RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 21 December 2024 Hi , We’ve had a win! In response to our advocacy, the Tasmanian government has abolished blasphemy laws. Our work is not done yet. Other states still have blasphemy and sacrilege laws on
their books – including in South Australia, where charges for sacrilege continue to be applied. In other news, we’ve asked all state and territory attorneys-general to address coercive control in cults. In a letter to them, we've outlined how cults continue to pose a great danger to the fundamental rights and freedoms of many Australians.
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. Si Gladman Executive Director, Rationalist Society of Australia |
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| RSA RSA calls on states and territories to address coercive control
in cults20 Dec: New laws are needed to effectively address coercive control practices within religious cults and high-demand religious groups, the Rationalist Society of Australia has told state and territory attorneys-general. In a letter this week, the RSA urged each state and territory to prioritise the introduction of coercive control laws that would effectively deal with coercive, harmful and abusive practices within religious cults.
Read the full article |
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| RSA RSL suggests Australians can attend “numerous alternative
services” instead of national war memorial’s Dawn Service18 Dec: A branch of the Returned & Services League (RSL) has suggested “numerous alternative services” are available to Australians who feel excluded and discriminated against by its Christianity-dominated Anzac Day Dawn Service at the national war memorial. Read the full article |
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| RSA Tasmania abolishes blasphemy laws in response to Rationalist
Society’s advocacy16 Dec: The Tasmanian government has abolished blasphemy offences following advocacy from the Rationalist Society of Australia. In late October, the state parliament passed the Justice and Related Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2024, which introduced numerous amendments, including clauses to remove blasphemy provisions from two existing acts of parliament. Read the full article |
| OUT IN PERTH WA government open to banning protesting in vicinity of places of worship 20 Dec: The WA government has confirmed it is considering
introducing laws to ban protests from occurring in the vicinity of places of worship. The Victorian government announced it would introduce laws that stopped protests from occurring with the proximity of churches, mosques and synagogues in the wake of the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue. Read
the full article |
| ABC Ellen's mum Sonja Kurtzer joined Hosanna Excelsis, but it couldn't save her19 Dec: Ellen says her mother, a proud Mirning and Kokatha woman and an accomplished academic, had
always struggled with her mental health. And in an attempt to seek "spiritual healing" she joined the Hosanna Excelsis church. She believes what followed had life-altering implications for her mother. Read the full article |
| RIOT ACT Brindabella Christian College staff call on board to resign18 Dec: Staff at the troubled Brindabella Christian College have called on all board members of the private
Lyneham-based school to resign as dozens of their colleagues vote with their feet ahead of an imminent decision on its future from ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Michigan releases report accusing 56 people of sexual abuse in Catholic diocese18 Dec: Michigan’s top state prosecutor has issued a report outlining allegations against
nearly 60 people in the Roman Catholic diocese of Lansing accused of sexually abusing children and vulnerable adults over the past seven decades. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Push to stop NSW hospitals opting out of abortions as healthcare ‘deserts’ exposed18 Dec: Public hospitals should not be able to “opt out of” providing abortions,
according to the Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn, who said despite abortion being decriminalised in New South Wales five years ago “far too little has changed”. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN NSW abortion deserts: just three of 220 public hospitals provide terminations, research finds17 Dec: Just three of New South Wales’ 220 public hospitals are routinely
providing abortions, according to research by the University of Sydney. The research, which maps lack of access to abortion in the state, also reveals that a majority of the state’s cities and towns are “abortion deserts”. Read the full
article |
| THE AGE Denied access to euthanasia, they took their own lives17 Dec: A coroner has asked those scrutinising the state’s voluntary assisted dying program to consider the suicide
deaths of eight Victorians – and possibly a ninth – after all were knocked back from accessing the scheme. The move has given hope to some assisted dying advocates, who have for months urged Victoria to follow in the footsteps of the ACT and drop the six-month life expectancy rule. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Victoria will legislate to ‘thwart’ protests at places of worship while banning masks and flags17 Dec: The Victorian government’s proposed crackdown on protests has been
criticised as a severe limitation on the right to participate in demonstrations, despite being backed by some Jewish groups. The Allan government on Tuesday announced protesting could be banned outside places of worship. Read the
full article |
| ABC Muslim leaders say more needs to be done to counter Islamophobia 17 Dec: Muslim leaders say Islamophobia has become normalised in Australia, describing
recent vandalism targeted at predominantly Muslim communities in Western Sydney as unsurprising. Read the full article |
| ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE Archbishop welcomes new Victorian measures to tackle antisemitism, promote social cohesion 17 Dec: Catholic Archbishop Peter A
Comensoli has welcomed the Victorian government’s proposals for banning protests at places and worship and says he is looking forward to “working constructively with the Government on implementation”. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Islamophobia on the rise 16 Dec: New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has condemned what he has described as Islamophobic graffiti seen in Western
Sydney over the weekend. In a statement the premier said that "vandalism like this that is aimed at particular religions is designed to incite hatred and is completely abhorrent". Listen to the episode here |
| THE GUARDIAN Children in tears after vicar tells them Santa is not real 15 Dec: Telling young children whether Santa is or is not real is a parental ritual
usually handled with painstaking care. For students at a primary school in Hampshire, however, their childhood wonder was torn to shreds after a vicar told pupils the bearded gift-bearer was invented. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Clergy abuse survivors hit out at moves to ban protests outside Australian places of worship 13 Dec: Survivors of clergy abuse have expressed
deep concern at proposals to ban protests outside places of worship, with lawyer John Ellis saying a blanket ban would have seen him arrested outside a Sydney cathedral last year. Read the full article |
| SBS 'Harmful': Liberal senator's 'fictitious Islamophobia' claim condemned 11 Dec: Liberal senator Dave Sharma's remark that Islamophobia is "fictitious" has
been criticised by Muslim groups who described them as "deeply concerning" and said they risk undermining the lived experience of victims. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE A fair dinkum Australian
Christmas Robert Macklin: The best thing about Christmas in Australia is Christmas in Australia. Here we are, a multicultural community way down in the Southern Hemisphere. No snow, no sleighs, no mangers and no one knows much about the little chap whose birth didn’t really occur on the day we celebrate it. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Can you choose to believe something, just like
that? Mark Boespflug: People can, of course, choose to read certain sources, spend time with certain groups, or reflect on a certain matter – all of which influence their beliefs. But all of these choices involve evidence of some kind. We often choose which evidence to expose ourselves to, but the evidence itself seems to be in the driver’s seat in causing beliefs. Read the full article |
| CRIKEY Let’s not forget the damaging legacy of the late Kevin Andrews Andrew Denton: If a man’s legacy is to be understood, it deserves to be
considered in full. And part of Kevin Andrews' legacy is his decision to stand in the way of Territorians having the right to die with dignity. Read the full article |
| SYDNEY CRIMINAL LAWYERS NSW Government Proposes to Extend Anti-Protest Regime to “Places of Worship” Paul Gregoire: Just when it appeared that
NSW premier Chris Minns had exhausted all possible avenues to further expand the draconian NSW antiprotest regime, the top Labor minister has pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat, and this time the potential prohibition would entail no more demonstrations outside places of worship. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN How hard is it to access an abortion in NSW? These maps show the ‘deserts’ for care in the state To better understand where women in New
South Wales are most struggling to access abortion, researchers led by the University of Sydney and the data visualisation specialist Ri Liu have mapped access to surgical abortion (a procedure undertaken in a clinical setting) and medication abortion (taking prescribed abortion pills) across the state. Read the full article |
| INQUIRER Trump’s religious supporters not only see him as a leader, but as God’s man Anthea Butler: The 2024 presidential election wasn’t just
an election. It was the election to solidify the deification of Donald Trump. If that sounds crazy and frightening to you, it should. For many voters, Trump isn’t just the head of the Republican Party. He is a God-ordained leader, meant to bring religion and morality back to America. Read
the full article |
| SALON The push for Christian nationalism may backfire Chauncey DeVega: In this conversation, Rev. Raushenbush explains how the deeply corrupt
and dangerous relationship between the Christian Right, Trumpism and the larger authoritarian project came into being and how it imperils American democracy and freedom. Read the full article |
| FREETHINKERS INTERNATIONAL Evolutionary biology vs. creationism in schools Jan Bryxí: In the USA, creationism is prohibited to teach in schools.
However, since Americans are inclined to religion, it is the same as every contraband. It does happen. Evolutionary biology vs. creationism in schools is still a hot topic. Read the full article |
| PSYCHOLOGY TODAY How Religious Instruction Shapes Children's Thinking Gary Wenk: A study by Corriveau and colleagues concluded that, in the
absence of a religious education, children will regard miracles as implausible. Their analysis showed that children's beliefs in supernatural myths are the result of their education. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER The Church of England’s slide into moral bankruptcy and the need for disestablishment Richard Scrorer: A character in a
Hemingway novel was asked how he went bankrupt and famously answered: ‘Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.’ These words seem apt to describe the plight of the Church of England. Abuse scandals have been slowly corroding its moral authority for decades. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Reality always wins: the perils of ideological science Samuel McKee: Though, as Einstein and Whitehead are believed to have
implied, science progresses in the direction of the worldview of those practising it, ideology can never win against reality. Reality is undefeated against every discipline across the annals of history. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars David M. Lantigua: In 2014,
thousands of Catholics gathered in St. Peter’s Square to honor the pope’s Dec. 17 birthday with his homeland’s famous dance. Now, a decade later, he is turning 88 and looking back. His autobiography – the first published by a sitting pope – will be published in January 2025. Read the full article |
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