ABSTRACT
The relationship between New Zealand and Australia can be touchy at the best of times, but the Australian nationality of the arrested gunman will no doubt lead to an intensification of ordinary tensions. An upside of Christchurch’s trauma legacy is that inter-denominational and inter-religious relationships and allegiances are likely to be strong. These networks will be called into play in the coming months for the purposes of mutual support, displays of solidarity, multi-religious religious observances and the like. Members of congregations will find themselves divided about the attacks and about the changes they have wrought to relationships between Christians and Muslims and with secularists. Some congregation members will want to ‘get past’ these internal difficulties quickly and perhaps to deny that they have anything to do with the congregation at all. Others will want or need to address the tensions and divisions at length.
