RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 2 November 2024 Hi , It's almost on a weekly basis now that we see brave Australians sharing their stories in the media of having escaped religious
cults. In a two-part investigation in The Age this week, journalist Richard Baker revealed the harmful practices of the fundamentalist Geelong Revival Centre. Surivivors are calling for governments to legislate on coercive control (see articles from 1 November and 31 October). At the RSA, we reported on the Mackay mayor's defence
of his council's practice of having only Christian leaders appear to recite prayers and deliver sermons at the opening of government meetings. If you'd like to share something you've seen online or comment on articles in the RSA Weekly, feel free to email me on
editor@rationalist.com.au. Si Gladman Executive Director, Rationalist Society of Australia |
| AFR Fortescue Energy chief quits religious group board amid staff concerns1 Nov: The chief executive of Fortescue’s energy division, Mark Hutchinson, has quit the board of a
religious group whose evangelical attitudes towards sex raised concerns among employees of the mining giant last month. Read the full article |
| THE AGE ‘Like Handmaid’s Tale’: Church’s doctrine pushed teen to marry her rapist1 Nov: Growing up as a close relative of pastor Noel Hollins, the all-powerful founder and leader of
the Geelong Revival Centre (GRC), Stacy remembers a childhood combining privilege and pressure. Travelling the Pacific and South-East Asia, she watched her parents “save souls” by bringing them into the fold of one of Australia’s most extreme and secretive Pentecostal churches on the promise of eternal life. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Universe would die before monkey with keyboard writes Shakespeare, study finds1 Nov: Mathematicians have called into question the old adage that a monkey typing randomly
at a keyboard for long enough would eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. Two Australian mathematicians have deemed it misleading, working out that even if all the chimpanzees in the world were given the entire lifespan of the universe, they would “almost certainly” never pen the works of the bard. Read the full article |
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| RSA Mackay council’s mayor defends prayer practice in face of
discrimination concerns31 Oct: A mayor whose council appears to give only Christian community leaders the opportunity to open its meetings with prayers says the current practice does not favour or exclude any group. In a letter to the Rationalist Society of Australia, Greg Williamson, the mayor of Mackay Regional Council in Queensland, defended his council’s meeting procedures, rejecting concerns that they breached Queensland
anti-discrimination and human rights laws. Read the full article |
| THE AGE ‘Whole world on fire’: Inside one of Australia’s most extreme churches31 Oct: For more than 65 years, Noel Hollins ran one of Australia’s most extreme and secretive
Pentecostal churches. His teachings warned of imminent armageddon and he exerted total control over the lives of thousands of followers who believed him to be the apostle of God’s “one true church”. Read the full article |
| ABC Anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe banned from parts of South Australia's parliament over alleged 'threatening' tactics31 Oct: Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe has been
banned from parts of South Australia's upper house, with parliament told she allegedly insulted, intimidated and threatened MPs on the night of a vote about late-term abortion law. Dr Howe has hit back at the ban, calling it a "total abuse of power" which she would "strongly contest going forward". Read
the full article |
| CATHNEWSQueensland’s bishops congratulate new state Government30 Oct: Queensland’s Catholic bishops have congratulated new Premier David Crisafulli and the Liberal National Party on winning the state election
on Saturday, and called for “the Church and the State Government [to] work together in a spirit of mutual respect in order to address the pressing issues facing our communities…” Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Catholic church still failing to deal with sexual abuse cases, says Vatican report30 Oct: Church leaders who fail to take action against paedophile priests are a
“further source of evil” for victims of sexual abuse and should be removed from their posts, the Vatican’s child protection commission has said. In its first report on a scandal that has embroiled the Catholic church for decades, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said the church was still failing to ensure that clerical sexual abuse cases were dealt with adequately. Read the full article |
| NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY (UK) Most new Labour MPs ‘agree with abolishing bishops’ seats in Lords’30 Oct: Most new Labour MPs privately agree with abolishing the bishops' bench,
according to Parliament's in-house magazine, The House. Twenty-six Church of England bishops sit by right in the House of Lords. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Diverse sexuality reported by more than one in 10 Australian high school students29 Oct: More than one in 10 Australian teenagers identify as gay, bisexual, pansexual or
asexual, a survey of high school students has found. The findings, the study’s authors say, highlight an “urgent need” for support services in schools and healthcare settings to mitigate against an increased risk of stigma, discrimination and violence. Read the full
article |
| CATHNEWS Archbishop Comensoli defends de Bruyn after ACU walkout29 Oct: Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli and Cardinal-designate Mykola Bychok have defended retired trade
unionist Joe de Bruyn’s right to uphold Catholic teaching in his speech to Australian Catholic University graduates last week. ACU awarded an honorary doctorate to Mr de Bruyn last week for his “outstanding support” of the Church in Australia. Read the full article |
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| RSA WA government targets 2025 for tackling religious exemptions to
equal opportunity laws 28 Oct: A re-elected Labor government in Western Australia would aim to introduce legislation next year to remove religious exemptions to equal opportunity laws. In a letter to the Rationalist Society of Australia last week, John Quigley, the state’s Attorney-General, reaffirmed the Cook government’s commitment to “reforming and narrowing the religious exemptions” that apply for religious
schools and religious bodies under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA). Read the full article |
| THE WEST AUSTRALIAN ECAJ sues Islamic preacher Abu Ousayd in Federal Court for racial hatred 28 Oct: Australia’s leading Jewish group has launched court
action against controversial Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad, claiming the cleric racially vilified Jews during speeches at a Sydney mosque. In a statement, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry announced it had begun civil proceedings in the Federal Court against Haddad. Read the full
article |
| THE GUARDIAN Australia rejects visa application by rightwing US pundit Candace Owens 27 Oct: Australia has rejected far-right provocateur Candace Owens’ visa
application ahead of a planned national speaking tour, with the immigration minister, Tony Burke, saying she had the “capacity to incite discord”. The US conservative influencer and podcast host, who has advanced conspiracy theories and antisemitic rhetoric including minimising Nazi medical experiments in concentration camps, will be blocked from coming to Australia. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE The case against going
nuclear Elizabeth Dangerfield: Is nuclear energy the magical solution that will reduce our use of fossil fuels, save us from global warming, and allow us to continue our privileged lifestyles? I understand why a nuclear energy-fuelled future is so seductive. Vast amounts of electricity can be produced without producing vast amounts of carbon dioxide. We can continue to grow, consume and become even wealthier with
an abundant supply of electricity. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump Michael E. Heyes: As a scholar of religion, I attended the
“Courage Tour,” a series of religious-political rallies, when it made a stop in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, from Sept. 27-28, 2024. From what I observed, the various speakers on the tour used conservative talking points – such as the threat of communism and LGBTQ+ “ideologies” taking over education – and gave them a demonic twist. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Harris and Trump lean into their faith in appeals to Christian voters in Georgia George Chidi: Two Georgia megachurches hosted
presidential candidates last week, highlighting the stark differences between how Kamala Harris and Donald Trump speak about faith and what Georgia’s Christian religious congregations expect of them. Though Trump and Harris communicate differently to the public about their faith, religious leaders on the left and the right are casting this election in apocalyptic terms. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER American democracy will soon turn 250. Freethought can reinvigorate it. Patrick Seamus McGhee: The next President of the United
States will be in office during the Semiquincentennial, which will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. As a British and Irish citizen with affection for American culture and institutions, as well as an historian of atheism in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world, I for one am looking forward to the festivities. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Confronting identity politics, a breeding ground for division and dehumanisation Maryam Namazi: I know identity politics well.
Criticise Islam and Islamism, you are deemed an ‘Islamophobe’ by Islamists and their apologists on the pro-Islamist Left. Defend Muslims, refugees, and migrants and you are deemed to be an ‘undercover jihadi’ by the far-right. Identity politics demands conformity. Stay within the confines imposed by the identitarians, or else. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole? Sarah Polkinghorne: In new research involving more than 480,000 Wikipedia users, US
researchers studied three distinctly different ways of going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole. These “curiosity styles” have been studied before, but not in such a large, diverse group of people using Wikipedia “naturalistically”, in daily life. The research may help us better understand the nature and importance of curiosity, its connections to wellbeing, and strategies for preventing the spread of false information. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Humanist chaplain Greg Epstein: ‘Our bowed interactions with our phones look like worship Andrew Anthony: Greg Epstein is the
humanist chaplain at Harvard and MIT. He was also TechCrunch’s first “ethicist in residence”. In his new book, Tech Agnostic, he explores the idea that “tech”, by which he means modern digital technology, is a new global religion, with messianic leaders, dutiful followers, daily rituals of worship, and an inescapable influence on all facets of life. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Religion in the workplace is tricky – but employers and employees both lose when it becomes a total taboo Christopher P. Scheitle,
et al: Since we spend so much of our lives at our jobs, it’s only natural that conversations with colleagues go beyond the work in front of us. People share interests and hobbies, family struggles, health concerns, and hopes or goals, from the silly to the serious. The topic of religion, however, can provoke anxiety. Read the full article |
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