RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 3 May 2025 Hi , If the coalition ends up triumphing at today's federal election, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more Christian chaplains in our public schools. See our top article about the
Liberal Party's pledge to "invest in chaplaincy". This week, in the lead-up to election day, there has been a lot of media attention on election-related commentary by religious schools and the alleged activities of a church group. In response to these reports, we wrote to the national charities regulator, raising our concerns. See our second 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 Liberal Party’s pledge to “invest in chaplaincy” threatens the
choice of secular roles3 May: The Liberal Party appears to want to return to the Howard-era model of using federal funding for religious chaplains in schools while not providing school communities the option of a secular wellbeing worker. As part of its education plan to ‘“return Australia to a top 10 education nation”, as outlined on its website, the party says it will “invest in chaplaincy” and “increase support for the National School
Chaplaincy Program”. Read the full article |
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| RSA RSA raises concerns with charities regulator over
election-related activities of religious charities2 May: The Rationalist Society of Australia has raised concerns with the nation’s charities regulator about election-related activities of religious charities that have received widespread media attention this week. In a letter to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, the RSA asked the regulator whether it would examine the political commentary of Catholic education authorities
in New South Wales and Victoria, along with alleged political activity of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. Read the full article |
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| RSA Port Stephens councillors insist on reciting prayers during
formal meetings instead of in private30 Apr: A council in New South Wales has mandated the observance of prayers during formal government meetings after a majority of councillors rejected a proposal for prayers to instead be held during their own private time. In March, following months of heated debate, the Port Stephens council voted in support of imposing prayers at the opening of council meetings. Read the full article |
| THE AUSTRALIAN Religious groups call for clarity 2 May: Labor is facing increased pressure from religious groups as it moves to dispel fears it will
reintroduce misinformation laws or work with the Greens on a religious discrimination bill. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Leaks reveal Brethren secrecy push, bid to ramp up poll presence 1 May: The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has increased efforts to disguise
from the public that its members are volunteering in the Liberal Party’s election campaign, and has urged its followers to turn up en masse on election day. In a secret recording of a post-campaign briefing call, a senior Brethren member instructed those working as volunteers to avoid answering questions about their religious affiliation. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Exclusive Brethren chief’s son spotted on hustings supporting Liberal Party 1 May: The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church’s support for the Liberal
Party has stepped up with the son of the church’s global leader seen campaigning at a Sydney voting booth on Wednesday. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) US supreme court seems open to religious public charter schools 1 May: The US supreme court’s conservative majority seemed open to
establishing the country’s first public religious charter school as they weighed a case Wednesday that could have significant ramifications on the separation of church and state. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Catholic schools election intervention in key seats sparks independents’ ire 30 Apr: The Catholic Church in Victoria has intervened in the federal
election campaign, attempting to dissuade their school parents from voting for Greens or independent candidates in seven hotly contested electorates. Read the full article |
| DAILY TELEGRAPH Catholic schools body begs parents to not vote for Greens or teal independent candidates 30 Apr: The Catholic school sector has taken its
most explicit foray yet into the 2025 federal election campaign, urging parents against voting for Greens and ‘teal’ independents. Catholic Schools NSW has based its latest position statement on analysis of candidates’ policy positions undertaken by the National Catholic Education Commission. Read the full article |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD The millions in election dollars promised to Sydney communities30 Apr: Labor has promised $7 million to the Sydney Murugan Temple and $2 million to the Jain
community in Parramatta, as well as $5 million each to Assyrian and Maronite churches in Werriwa. Read the full article |
| MELBOURNE CATHOLIC Bipartisan pledge of $60 million to restore Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral29 Apr: Archbishop Peter Comensoli has welcomed a bipartisan commitment from
Australia’s two major political parties to kickstart the restoration and revitalisation of Melbourne’s historic St Patrick’s Cathedral and the surrounding precinct, with a commitment from both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton to give $60 million to the project. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Australian politics live blog29 Apr: The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, has responded to reports that members of a separatist Christian sect campaigning
for the Liberal party in marginal seats. He told ABC News Breakfast: “There’s no religious test for participation in public life in Australia, and the Liberal party is not going to start enforcing one. We do not ask our volunteers about their religious beliefs.” Read the full article |
| THE AGE Exclusive Brethren don’t vote but are secretly campaigning for the Coalition28 Apr: A separatist Christian sect that tells its members to hate the world and which objects to
voting is campaigning for the Liberal and National parties ahead of Saturday’s federal election. The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren, has dispatched hundreds of its members to pre-polling booths in marginal seats. Read the full article |
| THE TABLET (VIA CATHNEWS) Vatican rules that Catholics cannot be ‘debaptised’28 Apr: The Vatican has ruled that a Catholic cannot be “debaptised”, refuting a small movement of people
who want their names removed from parish baptismal records in protest against current Church policies. Read the full article |
In an interview for the Freethinker website, philosopher A.C. Grayling speaks about his new book, Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars, covering topics including ‘wokeness’ and role of the philosopher in public life. What do you think? Email your comments to: sigladman@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Staying woke Elizabeth Dangerfield: There is a war on the word ‘woke’. It is now used in a derogatory way to dismiss concerns about lack of social justice. Yet, it is a simple word to warn the marginalised and disadvantaged to maintain constant vigilance in a world that is often hostile to them. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Why the Exclusive Brethren are out in force this election Michael Bachelard: This is what’s going on: a systematic, lavishly funded
attempt by an organisation with a strong financial agenda to influence the federal election without disclosing who they are or what want. Its campaign is part of a long history of attempted political influence, money politics and secrecy, from the sect once known as the Exclusive Brethren. Read the full article |
| THE AGE What Liberal powerbroker Michael Sukkar really believes Melissa Fyfe: Sukkar insists the role of faith in the Victorian Liberal Party is
“massively over-egged” (though three of his recent preselection picks have all been pastors, preachers or lifelong members of Baptist or pentecostal churches, including Kyle Hoppitt for the Senate and state parliament’s Nicole Werner and Renee Heath). Read the full article |
| ABC Is Muslim political disagreement a sign of internal division or collective maturity? Sami Shah: As Australia heads toward a federal
election, Muslim voters find themselves at the centre of an unprecedented push for political influence. Advocacy groups like Muslim Votes Matter and The Muslim Vote have sprung up to rally Muslim Australians around shared concerns. What does Muslim political engagement look like in a secular democracy? Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Fake news and the election campaign – how worried should voters be? Andrea Carson and Max Grömping: Our latest study on public
trust shows Australians are encountering electoral misinformation and are worried about it. We surveyed more than 7,000 people during March and April when the election campaign was heating up. At least two-thirds of respondents said they had already encountered false or misleading election information. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Australia vs the Internet: Misinformation overload To scroll through social media during an election campaign in 2025 is to experience some
of the worst misinformation. But an online soup of bots spouting partisan talking points wasn’t inevitable, even in recent years. Listen to the full episode |
| THE CONVERSATION The Christian Right is taking over America, according to Talia Lavin – but what is the best response? Russell Blackford: Talia
Lavin’s Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America is an angry response to the rise of American Christianity’s far-right fringe, which she depicts as a theocratic menace to secular government and liberal freedoms. Lavin exposes the Christian Right’s political ambitions and social harms, amassing examples to illustrate the point. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) ‘Standing up for Christian values’: US evangelicals keep the faith with Trump Eric Berger: When asked about Donald Trump’s
Easter morning post wishing a happy holiday to “the Radical Left Lunatics … fighting and scheming so hard to bring Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners” to the United States, Jackson Lahmeyer, an Oklahoma evangelical Christian pastor, said: “Isn’t it terrible that they are wanting to do that?” Read the full article |
| FREETHINKER The burning question: are blasphemy laws back?Stephen Evans: Earlier this year the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament: “we do not have a blasphemy
law in this country, nor will we have one.” But the prosecution of a man for burning a Quran outside the Turkish consulate in London casts serious doubt over this statement. Read the full article |
| FREETHINKER Robert G. Ingersoll: The Great Forgotten Orator of Reason and Liberty Tom Malone: Robert Green Ingersoll is perhaps the greatest
lost figure in freethought history. In an age before microphones and mass media, he was a household name in America—a thunderous voice for liberty, reason, and human dignity whose influence rivalled presidents and whose fame once surpassed that of the most celebrated authors and inventors of his time. Yet today, he is little known outside circles of historians and freethinkers. Read the full article |
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