RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 28 June 2025 Hi , On Wednesday, the RSA and three non-religious veterans took part in a very positive and constructive meeting with representatives of the Australian War Memorial about the imposition
of Christianity in Anzac Day Dawn Services (see the top article). The veterans shared their personal experiences and made a compelling case for secular reform of the annual commemoration. We're hopeful that the War Memorial will now consider the views put as it plans for next year's Anzac Day. If you'd like to share your thoughts about articles in the RSA Weekly,
email me on: sigladman@rationalist.com.au. Si Gladman Executive Director, Rationalist Society of Australia |
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| RSA Make the Dawn Service more meaningful for all Australians,
non-religious delegation tells War Memorial27 Jun: Anzac Day Dawn Services should be more meaningful for all Australians instead of resembling Christian church services, non-religious veterans and pro-secular advocates have told staff of the Australian War Memorial. The Rationalist Society of Australia and three non-religious veterans met with two representatives of the War Memorial on Wednesday to discuss the dominance of the annual Dawn
Service by Christianity. Read the full article |
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| RSA NSW government celebrates ‘social cohesion’ with award for
program that divides children by religion25 Jun: The New South Wales government is awarding public schools for “building social cohesion” where they segregate children according to the religion of their parents as part of the scripture program. Late last year, education minister Prue Car presented Northbourne Public School with a ‘Building Social Cohesion Award’ for its wide range of religious offerings in the Special Religious Education
program. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) US supreme court rules schools must let kids opt out of LGBTQ+ book readings 28 Jun: The US supreme court has ruled that schools must
give children the chance to opt out on faith grounds from listening to storybooks being read out loud that feature gay and transgender characters, in a landmark decision that will be seen as striking a blow for religious rights in education. Read the full
article |
| SKY NEWS Internal documents reveal how ABC News pushes diversity, equity and inclusion quota system 27 Jun: A Freedom of Information investigation has
uncovered documents which reveal the extraordinary steps ABC journalists must take to hit “woke” diversity targets which are altering the structure of stories going to air. The DEI push is detailed in a document titled “50:50 Equality Project” which sets out the framework for how journalists collect sensitive racial data and even disability status of voices used in news reports. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) Mamdani faces barrage of Islamophobic attacks after New York primary success 27 Jun: “Hamas terrorist sympathizer”, “jihadist terrorist”,
calls for deportation and predictions of another 9/11 – these are among the torrent of Islamophobic attacks that have erupted across social media and conservative political circles following Zohran Mamdani’s success in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Read the full article |
| NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY (UK) NSS-led coalition calls for parliamentary inquiry on circumcision 27 Jun: A coalition coordinated by the National Secular
Society has urged the UK Parliament's health and social care committee to launch an inquiry into the non-therapeutic circumcision of boys. The call came in a letter from 14 signatories including doctors and families harmed by non-therapeutic circumcision. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Tax concession drives donations to Australia’s richest private schools and must stop, critics argue 26 Jun: The Albanese government has been
urged to end an “outrageous” and “cruel joke” that incentivises donations to Australia’s richest private schools in return for a tax deduction. Analysis of federal government data by the campaign group Save Our Schools has found that more than $106m was donated to 60 private schools in 2023. Some of these donations were considered tax deductible gifts to charities, provided the money was designated for campus buildings. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Tony Abbott tells Advance supporters bequeathing money to rightwing group will ‘protect’ Australian values 26 Jun: The rightwing lobby group
Advance will court donations from deceased estates with the blessing of former prime minister Tony Abbott as part of its latest efforts to fundraise for its campaign war chest. Advance targeted the Greens at the latest federal election, claiming success after the minor party lost three lower-house seats, including one held by former leader Adam Bandt. Read the full article |
| CATH NEWS SA Government confirms long-term funding for Catholic schools 26 Jun: Catholic Education South Australia has welcomed the Malinauskas state
Government’s decision to continue its funding commitment to non-government schools through to 2034, following the finalisation of the Better and Fairer Schools Agreement with the Albanese Government. Read the full article |
| CBS NEWS (US) Texas parents sue state after Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill requiring Ten Commandments in classrooms 25 Jun: A group of North Texas parents is
suing the state and their students' school districts after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The lawsuit alleges Senate Bill 10 is a violation of the establishment clause and a violation of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Read the full article |
| HERALD SUN Pastor accused of duping churchgoer out of $620k for new house 23 Jun: A member of a failed new-age Christian church is taking legal action
against its pastor alleging he duped her into handing over her life savings for an investment property. Read the full
article |
| SASK TODAY (CANADA) Proposed charitable status changes spark debate 18 Jun: A recent parliamentary report has ignited debate over charitable status
regulations in Canada, with faith-based and pro-life organizations at the centre of the discussion. The Standing Committee on Finance’s report includes two recommendations that have drawn criticism from religious and pro-life groups, including removal of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose. Read the full article |
| SEVEN NEWS Funds are being raised to build an Islamic sanctuary in Melbourne’s north 10 Jun: An antisemitic preacher is preparing to build a
multi-million-dollar Islamic enclave in Melbourne’s north. The cleric regularly conducts hate-fuelled sermons, sparking calls for the organisation's tax-free charitable status to be revoked. Watch the full report |
| THE AUSTRALIAN ALRC ‘not compromised’ over religious school review 4 Jun: Australian Law Reform Commission president Mordy Bromberg has defended its review
of discrimination at religious schools, saying the ALRC was “not compromised” in any way, despite the man who led the review – judge Stephen Rothman – revealing that he thought the report had been “constrained”. Read the full article |
In her inaugural speech to the upper house of the West Australian Parliament, the new Australian Christians MP, Maryka Groenewald, pledged not to “push my faith on anyone”. But she took aim at a number of the state government’s law reforms of recent years and its current proposal to remove religious schools’ exemptions to anti-discrimination laws. What do
you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Volunteers and charities are shouldering too much
of the burden Elizabeth Dangerfield: The push for small government has come at a terrible cost on our most vulnerable citizens. To achieve it, governments have abrogated their responsibilities by relying on charities and non-government organisations for delivering essential services for the wellbeing of our society and environment. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Should we widen our ‘moral
circle’? Noel Castree: Collectively, we humans now have more power than ever over “moral patients” – that is, those current and future beings who deserve moral consideration because they “matter for their own sakes”, not merely for ours. Morality involves judgements about good and bad, right and wrong. Humans are inescapably moral animals. Yet it is rare for most of us to reflect on how well our moral compasses are
working. Read the full article |
| THE SATURDAY PAPER Exclusive: Labor has first Left-majority caucus Karen Barlow: Labor’s landslide on May 3 did far more than enhance Anthony
Albanese’s leadership. It delivered the first caucus majority for his Left faction since the national groupings were organised in the 1970s. The split with the Right is now 62-59. According to a senior Labor figure on the Left, there is a “very new environment for all” and it should have a great influence on the style of politics this term, if not policy. Read the full article |
| ABC Australians are moving away from organised religion but some are bucking the trend Claudia Forsberg: Australians are moving away from
organised religion in record numbers, but Samantha Raabe is heading in the opposite direction. Ms Raabe did not grow up in a religious household, but found her own way to faith later in life. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Anglican Church can’t grow if it fails to accept gay reality Muriel Porter: While the Anglican Church’s highest court has said it is not
against the church’s constitution to bless same-sex weddings, only a handful of Australian dioceses have permitted that. And now Melbourne Diocese – once the progressive capital of the Australian church – has elected an archbishop firmly opposed to same-sex weddings. There will be no wedding blessings here. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Why Design Arguments Necessarily Fail Samuel McKee: Darwin, like most others at the time, held a creationist view of the natural
world, whose intricacy suggested that there was an intelligent mind behind it all, just as the intricacy of Paley’s watch suggested a watchmaker. No other explanation existed for the diversity of living organisms until Darwin discovered natural selection. Read the full
article |
| THE FREETHINKER From the UK to Iran, self-critique is the antidote to global Muslim crises Kunwar Khuldune Shahid: It is precisely this
abundance of self-criticism in the West that Muslim activists, instead of replicating it within their own communities and states, have exploited to weave the shrouds of postcolonial narratives to couch their dutiful support for Islamist causes around the globe. Read the full article |
| UNHERD Trump’s war on science Richard Hanania: Last month, The New York Times reported that the National Science Foundation, the
government agency that funds non-medical research, was distributing money at the slowest pace in at least 35 years. The crisis at the NSF isn’t accidental. It reflects the Trump administration’s hostility toward basic research, part of a wider assault on science. Read the full
article |
| THE FRIENDLY ATHEIST New data reveal how religion (and atheists) shaped the 2024 presidential election Hemant Mehta: Perhaps the biggest shift
comes from the most religious Americans overall. Among the people who attend religious services at least once a month, Trump went from getting 59% support in 2020 to 64% in 2024. Roughly two out of three Americans who are regular church-goers were willing to vote for a right-wing zealot who constantly pays them lip service. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) Liberal supreme court justices’ dissents reveal concerns that the US faces a crisis George Chidi: On Friday the
conservative-dominated US supreme court handed down a series of important judgments on issues ranging from the power of the judiciary to religious rights in schools. Media attention generally focused on the wording of the rulings and their impact. But the court’s liberal minority of just three justices penned dissenting opinions that were similarly potent, revealing the sharp divisions on America’s top legal body. Read the full article |
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