RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 5 July 2025 Hi , We’re pleased to see that Victoria’s parliamentary inquiry into cults has sparked collaboration among cult survivors. In our Rationale magazine this week, Clare Heath-McIvor
wrote about the mission to achieve meaningful reforms to address coercive and abusive practices in cults (see in the ‘Opinion / Analysis’ section). Meanwhile, with the opening of the new federal parliament just a couple of weeks away, we’ll be stepping up our push for members of parliament to modernise the Standing Orders to remove daily acts of Christian worship. We’ve urged Larissa Waters,
the new Greens’ leader, to push for the change early in the new term (see top article). 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 RSA urges Greens’ leader to push for removal of prayers early in
the new term of parliament5 Jul: The Rationalist Society of Australia has called on the new leader of the Australian Greens to push for removal of daily acts of Christian worship, or replacement with more appropriate practices, in the new federal parliament. In a letter to Senator Larissa Waters last month, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman urged the Greens to push, early in the new term, for modernisation of Standing Orders to remove
Christian prayers. Read the full article |
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| RSA Scripture programs lead to religious-based bullying, RSA tells
inquiry3 Jul: The intrusion of scripture programs into public schools is contributing to religious-based bullying, the Rationalist Society of Australia has told an inquiry. In a submission to the federal education department’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, the RSA urged governments to examine how scripture programs – such as the Special Religious Education program in New South Wales and the Religious Instruction program in Queensland –
contribute to bullying. Read the full article |
| ABC Man sets fire to synagogue in East Melbourne as Israeli-owned restaurant targeted by protesters 5 Jul: Police are investigating a third antisemitic
incident that took place across Melbourne overnight. A synagogue in East Melbourne was first set alight about 8pm on Friday, followed by a protest at a Jewish-owned restaurant in the CBD a few hours later. On Saturday afternoon, Victoria Police revealed details about another incident that occurred at a business in Greensborough. Read the full article |
| ABC Antisemitism inquiry told Jewish school students subject to abuse and threats 4 Jul: School children have had eggs thrown at them, been chased down
streets, and subjected to Nazi salutes and death threats amid a surge of racism targeted at Sydney's Jewish community, a parliamentary inquiry has heard. Read the full article |
| ABC Ghost scam targeting elderly Chinese in Australia prompts warning 4 Jul: Fraudsters who prey on elderly women of Chinese descent using what is known as
a "blessing" or "ghost" scam to trick them into parting with their valuables have begun operating in Australia, according to WA Police. The scam relies heavily on cultural and traditional beliefs to instil fear in vulnerable people with an Asian background, making them believe their family members are at risk from spirits. Read the full article |
| ABC Family members of Adelaide 'honour' stabbing victim have sentences reduced 3 Jul: A father who carried out the "honour" stabbing of his daughter for
dating a man of a different faith has had his prison sentence reduced by almost four years, after a court noted the victim had since offered her forgiveness. Read the full article |
| NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY (UK) Christians a minority in the UK, newly published data reveals 2 Jul: Christians make up a minority of the UK population,
newly published data reveals. Statistics from the Office for National Statistics based on the most recent censuses show 46.6% of the UK described themselves as 'Christian' in 2021, a 12.9 percentage point decrease from 59.5% in 2011. Read the full
article |
| NEWS Migrant mothers giving birth to more boys than girls 2 Jul: Immigrant mothers from China and India are giving birth to more sons than daughters, new
research has found, sparking concern among experts about sex-selective abortion in Australia. The study, conducted by Edith Cowan University researchers, “almost certainly points to” women from countries where higher value is placed upon having a boy terminating a girl after discovering the gender through blood tests. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Clashes and arrests in Turkey over magazine cartoon allegedly depicting prophet Muhammad 1 Jul: Clashes erupted in Istanbul with police firing
rubber bullets and teargas to disperse a mob on Monday after allegations that a satirical magazine had published a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad. The clashes occurred after Istanbul’s chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of the editors at LeMan magazine on grounds it had published a cartoon that “publicly insulted religious values”. Read the full article |
| UPI Humanist conference relocates, citing US religious nationalism 30 Jun: American Atheists has withdrawn as host of the 2026 World Humanist Congress,
originally scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., citing "new and yet unfolding risks posed by the escalation of religious nationalism and the erosion of human rights" in the United States under President Donald Trump's administration. Read the full
article |
| THE GUARDIAN US Catholic school fires teacher after husband’s obituary reveals his marriage to a man 29 Jun: A longtime music teacher at a Catholic school
in the New Orleans area recently lost his job when it was revealed to an evidently “disgruntled” parent that he was another man’s widower, igniting a scandal within an archdiocese that has otherwise largely been occupied with trying to reorganize its finances in federal bankruptcy court after its clergymen spent decades sexually molesting children. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE A century on from Scopes trial, America’s culture
war over evolution and creationism rages on Susan and William Trollinger: The 1925 Scopes trial, in which a Dayton, Tennessee, teacher was charged with violating state law by teaching biological evolution, was one of the earliest and most iconic conflicts in America’s ongoing culture war. One hundred years after the trial, the culture war over evolution and creationism
remains strong – and yet, when it comes to creationism, much has also changed. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Cult survivors on a mission for meaningful
change Clare Heath-McIvor: The launch of this inquiry has triggered collaboration among numerous advocates in this space and has spurred the creation of the Victorian Cult Survivors Network. This group is in addition to a work group comprising members of Stop Religious Coercion Australia, Survivors of Coercive Cults and High-Control Groups, plus individual anti-cult advocates with an interest in this space. In
banding together, the groups are focusing on advocating for meaningful survivor-led law reform rather than surface-level announceables that fail to stamp out harm. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Hannah Thomas’s injury sparks questions over NSW protester rights. What does the law say? Jordyn Beazley: The altercation between
police and protesters that left Hannah Thomas in hospital with a serious eye injury has reanimated a perennial issue in New South Wales – the right to protest. The former Greens candidate, who ran against Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the federal election, was charged alongside four others after attending a protest in Sydney outside a business allegedly involved in supplying services for parts used in Israeli jets (which the company denies). Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN ‘Accelerated censorship’: advocates criticize US supreme court ruling on LGBTQ+ books Olivia Empson: Kiernan, a 24-year-old
transgender person from Colorado, feels drained from dealing with legislation that consistently limits the spaces and freedoms of people like him. Since he transitioned in 2016, it’s been the same routine attacks on LGBTQ+ rights that Kiernan feels have now just become part of living in the US. Now, in the wake of the Mahmoud v Taylor supreme court ruling, the stigmatization of these communities is likely to worsen. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Zohran Mamdani won by being himself – and his victory has revealed the Islamophobic ugliness of others Nesrine Malik: Zohran
Mamdani’s stunning win in New York’s mayoral primary has been a tale of two cities, and two Americas. In one, a young man with hopeful, progressive politics went up against the decaying gods of the establishment and won. In another, in an appalling paroxysm of racism and Islamophobia, a Muslim antisemite has taken over the most important city in the US, with an aim to impose some socialist/Islamist regime. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Why is Islamophobia so hard to define? Julian Hargreaves: The UK government wants a new definition of Islamophobia and has
created a working group of politicians, academics and independent experts to provide one. It aims to settle long-running political debates over the term. The concept of Islamophobia describes anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic prejudices and their impact on Muslim communities. The term became familiar in the UK following publication of the Runnymede Trust report, Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All, in 1997. Read the full article |
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