One to watch

Speaking on the ABC TassieCast podcast, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman joined with Independent member of parliament Mike Gaffney in calling for parliaments and local governments to stop imposing daily Christian prayers. But, from the Australian Christian Lobby, Michelle Pearse argued that the recitation of prayars recognised Australia’s Christian heritage and ethos. What do you think? Email your comments to: sigladman@rationalist.com.au

Opinion / Analysis

Mark Davis: In Australia and many countries overseas, there has been considerable public discussion on what appears to be an emerging gap between young men and young women when it comes to political attitudes. The conversation is focusing on the issue of young men apparently becoming more conservative, while young women are more progressive. And we’ve seen this purportedly play out in elections. Read the full article

Geoffrey Williams: Perhaps the Coalition’s resounding defeat might be an opportunity to deliver some feedback: stop imposing religious beliefs on the public. We live in a democracy, not a theocracy. It was the defeat of the Northern Territory’s democratically introduced Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 by the Coalition’s then federal government that stopped me voting for the Coalition. Read the full Letters column

Alexandra Smith: A nasty display of bully-boy political tactics have been laid bare in NSW parliament this week. There have been claims of threats, misinformation and, in the words of Premier Chris Minns, downright lies. But none has been instigated by Labor, the Liberals or any other party. Rather, it has been led by anti-abortion influencer Joanna Howe, who has managed to unite both sides of the political divide. Read the full article

Jude Hennessy: A motion recognising the Special Religious Education program had been delayed by the Greens, who continue to be unsupportive of SRE, along with other left-leaning and anti-faith groups, looking to undermine and underplay the tremendous work done by so many good people, across all major faiths in our multicultural society. Read the full article

Kate Midena and Louise Heywood: When Greg Thompson became the bishop of Newcastle, he refused to turn a blind eye to the decades-long child sex abuse scandals in the diocese. For him, it was personal. He was himself a sexual abuse survivor. But speaking out came at huge personal cost — and left Greg wondering where he fits in the Anglican Church. Read the full article

Luara Ferracioli: Labor has been much more disciplined in handling such controversial matters. They are more careful in how they engage with them, but they also seem more willing to work hard to find solutions that genuinely treat all citizens as free and equal, creating the conditions for everyone to flourish on their own terms — without interfering with one another. Read the full article

Ghaith Krayem: The recent article by Ali Kadri raises a number of important questions about the way Australian Muslims can engage in politics. But as a co-founder and the national spokesperson of Muslim Votes Matter (MVM), I believe that Kadri’s criticism of the organisation misses the essence of what it represents and why it managed to strike a deep chord within the community. Read the full article

George Browning: There has been a growing trend for Conservative politics in the US and in Australia to double down on support from conservative expressions of Christian religious faith. These religious views are not consistent with the values of most Australians, they are divisive. Read the full article

Elizabeth Bruenig: During his campaign, Donald Trump told Christian supporters that if he became president, they would never have to vote again, because “we’ll have it fixed so good.” Now he’s trying to follow through on his promise by establishing a task force charged with “eradicating anti-Christian bias.” But Christians shouldn’t conclude that this new commission will necessarily defend their interests, let alone fix it “so good.” Read the full article

Dafydd Townley: Unlike Musk, Vought acts mostly outside the media spotlight. He is fully committed to a radical overhaul of the way the US presidency works – and his deep religious convictions have led him to believe there should be more Christianity embedded in government and public life. Read the full article

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid: The Antisemitism Awareness Act, if passed in its current form, will be a blatant breach of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The First Amendment has not only been the legal safeguard to free speech in the US for over two centuries, but it also remains an oft-cited benchmark for progressive legislation around the world. Read the full article