Reconciliation Australia acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to Elders past and present. Incorporating Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country into meetings, gatherings, and events shows respect by upholding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural protocols. Taking the time to acknowledge Country, or including a Welcome to Country at an event, reminds us that every day we live, work, and dream on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands. 

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer Jude Barlow says, “Being welcomed to Country means that you are talking to your spiritual ancestors and you’re saying [to the spirits] just let this person come through. We trust that they’re not going to do any harm to this Country, and so do not harm them.”

Welcome to country is “about ensuring your spiritual safety. Because my ancestors… are still present in Country. They’re still with us. They’re in the animals. They’re in the trees.”

Barlow concludes, “I look to be welcomed so that I feel a sense that the spirits are okay with me being there.”

The rest of this post is taken from an article ‘Country’ is a Pagan Animist Concept, So Why the Christian Compromise? 26th May, 2025 by Dave Pellowe, founder of The Good Source.

Correctly and culturally understood, ‘Country’ is irrevocably tied to spiritism and animism. Yet, an acknowledgment of ‘Country’ is again planned for the Sydney Prayer Breakfast, a high-profile, purportedly Christian, inclusive networking event.

Choosing Between ‘Nice’ (Fearing Man) or Good (Fearing God)

We can’t be nice about the implicit religious claims of anything in a bottle labelled “Country”. That word, in cultural context, is a container of meaning which contradicts the teaching of Jesus Christ and the clear doctrines of Christian Scripture.

The tragedy which faithful, well formed Christians must contend with today is the silence of “nice” denominational leaders taken by unbelievers as the definition of Christian belief. Some liberal Christians with an obviously low view of Scripture even act as apologists for and embrace traditional Aboriginal religious rituals and occultism.

Be encouraged: I am getting reports of Christian schools and other organisations reading this teaching and research on “Country” and repenting of ever including it in their community. Every single one must do likewise urgently. (That research was updated this week with additional photographic evidence from three major museums as well as an SBS election article.)

There is a remnant that will not bow the knee! I have been invited to speak at the Albury Wodonga Prayer Breakfast in July and the National Prayer Breakfast in September. Praise God both of these events have boldly confirmed there will be no welcome to or acknowledgment of “Country”!

The choice is between “nice”, and good. In this instance, we cannot be both. Fear men, or fear God.