Religious lobbyists, having successfully pressured the Albanese government to reject proposed reforms to tax-deductibility arrangements for school building funds and religious activities in public schools, are now asking charities minister Andrew Leigh to maintain the “special” status for their charities. Watch this space!

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9 Aug: Religious lobbyists are demanding that the Albanese government continue to recognise faith-based charities as “special” and give them “due respect” among all charities in Australia’s charities sector. In an interview on Christian radio, prominent lobbyist Murray Norman has revealed that faith-based groups have been engaging with the government in an effort to “push back” against the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for the removal of special exemptions provided to Basic Religious Charities. Read the full article

9 Aug: Opponents of independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich’s 'Equality Bil' have welcomed a further delay to debate but say they will continue to push hard to have it rejected altogether from parliament. Executive officer of religious freedom thinktank Freedom for Faith, Mike Southon, said he is encouraged that the government is not trying to push ahead with the bill. Read the full article

8 Aug: Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich has said he is “deeply disappointed” that the LGBTIQA+ Equality Bill has been delayed again. The NSW Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 was slated for debate in Parliament today, but has now been rescheduled for later in the year. Read the full article

7 Aug: The federal government is close to finalising its plan for broad changes to election laws, including spending limits, donation limits and truth standards for political ads. Senator Don Farrell, the minister in charge of electoral laws, will begin briefing the Coalition, Greens and independents on its plans next week, ahead of the bill's likely introduction to parliament in September. Read the full article

7 Aug: We often cite the success of Australian multiculturalism -- half of us born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas, coming from 300 different ancestries. But tensions elsewhere and the toxic tone of social media threaten this project. The federal government has appointed Melbourne Labor MP Peter Khalil as the country’s first envoy for social cohesion. Listen to the episode

7 Aug: The mayor of Paris has launched an extraordinary attack on religious leaders and conservative politicians who voiced their outrage at the Olympic opening ceremony, defending the director and the artists who have faced death threats and online abuse. In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde, Anne Hidalgo said: “F--- the reactionaries, f--- this far right, f--- all of those who would like to lock us into a war of all against all.” Read the full article

6 Aug: The Rationalist Society of Australia has raised concerns with the Royal Australian Navy that its requirement for secular wellbeing support roles to demonstrate spirituality could unfairly block non-religious and non-spiritual applicants. In a letter to Navy Headquarters, the RSA’s Executive Director Si Gladman has sought an explanation from Navy on its understanding of the word “spirituality” and what it meant to be “spiritual”. Read the full article

6 Aug: A religious vilification complaint has been lodged with the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board against federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. In a complaint to the anti-discrimination board, the Alliance Against Islamophobia said Mr Dutton's comment contributed to a "hostile environment for Muslim Australians" and "reinforcing harmful stereotypes about the Muslim community". Read the full article

5 Aug: One in 250 Australians were sexually abused during childhood by a leader or other adult in a religious organisation, new research led by Australian Catholic University shows.
The first nationally representative figures on the prevalence of child sexual abuse by leaders or other adults in religious settings shows nearly three-quarters of the reported cases occurred in Catholic-run organisations. Read the full article

In a speech calling for removal of daily prayers from the Victorian Parliament, the Legalise Cannabis Party's David Ettershank has argued that, for many people who suffered abuse in Christian institutions, the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in parliament is a “painful reminder of trauma and loss”. What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au

Clare Heath-McIvor: There’s a lot they don’t tell you about leaving a cult, a high-control religion or toxic group. They don’t exactly warn you that you could freeze up in the cereal aisle at the supermarket, wondering if it’s really okay to buy that brand you’ve been told is tied up with a rival cult. Cereal and rival religions. Yes, you read that right. While the distress of leaving a cult might be predictable, the fraught nature of seeking much-needed support during this immensely stressful time is less so. Read the full article

Jeff Lerner: I want to raise two examples of the importance of semantics. In the first example, according to the RSA Weekly the Royal Australian Navy is requiring that applicants for its secular wellbeing roles have a “strong spiritual connection” and demonstrate how their spirituality informs their life. If they’re going to insist on this absurd (in my opinion) condition, they will first need to provide a precise definition of spirituality. Read the full article

David Salter: What if this intrusion of religious faith into the conduct of our lawmaking was itself against the law of the land?... ‘Imposing any religious observance’. Those words can certainly be construed in ways that might convince the High Court that the reading of prayers in Parliament is unconstitutional, and therefore unlawful. Read the full article

Evan Mulholland (Liberal MP): The backdown of the Victorian Labor Government was an important line in the sand, where people of all faiths united and stood firm against these attempts at radical secularisation by stealth. If we don’t push to defend even what some may suggest are small concessions, we have crippled ourselves on the larger issues. Read the full article

Domestic violence is a whole-of-society problem. But how are faith communities dealing with the current crisis? Nationally, the rate of intimate partner homicide is getting worse, not better. So can religions be an ally in preventing violence and making changes to attitudes on marriage, divorce and gender roles? Listen to the episode

Daniel James Sharp: Jared Huffman is the Democratic representative for California’s 2nd congressional district and the only open non-believer in the US Congress. He is also at the forefront of the fight against Christian nationalism in America. Read the full article

Louise Carpenter: At the end of June, the Canadian psychology professor and culture warrior Jordan Peterson uploaded the 462th episode of his phenomenally successful podcast (8.13 million subscribers at the last count). It was called Why the Establishment Hates This Man: Tommy Robinson. Read the full article

Lauren Day and Matt Henry: In Thailand, it can seem like barely a week goes by without reports of monks being charged with drug possession, drunk driving, corruption, violent crimes, even rape and murder. That's not to mention a slew of less serious – but equally scandalous – reports of monk misbehaviour, such as the case of Phra Kato, a handsome young monk and social media influencer whose sexual tryst with a model was exposed in early 2022. Read the full article