And some positive news closer to home: another local government has removed prayers from its meetings and introduced a secular pledge. It's fair to say, based on comments in the report, faith groups aren’t happy!

If you'd like to share something you've seen online or share your thoughts about articles in the RSA Weekly, feel free to email me on editor@rationalist.com.au.

26 Nov: Australians will not be compelled to hand over personal identification – such as a driver licence or passport – to big tech companies as part of the government’s world-first under-16s social media ban, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has pledged. Several Coalition members have raised alarm about the privacy implications of the bill. Read the full article

26 Nov: Victorians who incite hateful or threatening behaviour will face up to five years in jail under the state government’s proposed anti-vilification laws. Premier Jacinta Allan detailed the long-awaited changes – which include tough fines and jail sentences for perpetrators of hate crimes – on Tuesday morning, claiming “American-style division” was infiltrating Victoria. Read the full article

24 Nov: A pastor in a secretive and extreme Pentecostal church has advocated corporal punishment of children as a way to prevent school shootings and gender dysphoria. The leaked recording of the pastor advocating a “rod of correction” policy emerged as Victoria’s child safety watchdog expressed concern about practices at the Geelong Revival Centre. Read the full article

One to watch

In a new podcast interview, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former figure of the 'New Atheism' movement and recent convert to Christianity, said of atheists: "It is a pity ... to lead a life of constantly fortifying yourself against faith. And in that way you create a counter faith in non-faith...". What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au

Opinion / Analysis

Hugh Breakey: Legal efforts to suppress misinformation are ongoing. Around the world, many countries are considering legislation to suppress specific types of misinformation or require online platforms to suppress it. Such laws are always controversial. They encounter some well-known practical and ethical problems – and some surprising ones. Read the full article

Paul Monk: Athenian democracy was well short of an ideal model even for a city state. And, yet, the merits of democratic deliberation were increasingly appreciated in the 4th century BCE and afterwards, spreading across the Greek world. John Ma’s newly published magnum opus Polis: A New History of the Ancient Greek City-State from the Early Iron Age to the End of Antiquity explores this seeming paradox at luxurious length. Read the full article

Kristen Amiet: Most Mormons aren’t particularly bothered by how they’re portrayed on stage and screen, with many church leaders and congregants seizing upon the opportunity to welcome new worshippers into the fold. But its global policy of handling complaints in-house rather than engaging with the authorities when serious allegations of abuse are made has landed the LDS Church in hot water more than once — and that’s only the ones we know about. That’s where Heaven’s Helpline comes in. Read the full article

Jonny Thomson: If Stoicism is to be more than simply a menu of useful tricks and psychological meditations to help us get by, then it needs the basic beliefs mentioned above. If we are to find meaning, purpose, and direction in life, we need to accept ancient Stoicism in its full richness. We need to recognize the ancient allure of the logos and unpack what the greatest good of virtue really means. Read the full article

Martha Gill: Manifesting. Jordan Peterson. The phenomena are pitched at different consumers – Peterson’s audience leans right and male. But at core they offer a similar thing: self-improvement wrapped up in spirituality, a system of faith that also promises to help you achieve your personal goals. And in this they are part of a rising tide of what we will, for short, call “nonsense”. Read the full article

The beautiful capital of Budapest also happens to be the centre of Europe's culture wars, especially on issues of immigration, gender, and sex. Hungary's Viktor Orban is one of the longest-serving prime ministers in Europe. And part of his strategy is to style the nation as the leader of an explicitly Christian Europe. Listen to the episode

Bob Forder: I do not feel comfortable being associated with the lies, conspiracy theories, and authoritarianism that are now passing as the free speech cause, and I am sure I’m not alone in this. My question is, how are liberal democratic secularists to distance themselves from conspiracy theorists, liars, populists, and racists when they have wrapped themselves in our traditional banner of free speech? Read the full article

Sarah Joseph: The proposed ban would disrupt the flow of political communication to and from children. Unlike corporations and trade unions, children are future voters. Their later political choices are often influenced by views developed while they are children. Furthermore, the minimum age requirement will deprive us all of children’s political voices on social media. Read the full article

Matteo Vergani: Hate crimes, like terrorism, aim to make a group of people feel unsafe. When a community understands that the victims in this case were selected solely because of their Jewish identity, others who share that identity feel threatened. This is regardless of whether they live in close proximity or if they are identifiably Jewish. Read the full article