RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 24 May 2025 Hi , While the return of the federal parliament is still a couple of months away, we're using the interim period to actively advocate for a number of reforms. We've been writing to the
Prime Minister – who last week expressed his support for separation of church and state – and to independent MPs and minor parties (see our top articles below). 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 raises concerns about election activities of religious
charities with independents and minor parties, calls for reforms24 May: The Rationalist Society of Australia has urged independent members of parliament and minor parties to pursue reforms that stop charities from engaging in election activities that directly support candidates or parties. In a letter today to independent MPs and minor parties elected to the House of Representatives, the RSA raised concerns about the widely reported
activities of religious charities during the federal election campaign. Read the full article |
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| RSA RSA calls on Prime Minister Albanese to support removing
parliament prayers and advocate for church-state separation20 May: The Rationalist Society of Australia has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to advocate for separation of church and state in the new term of parliament and has suggested that he start with the removal from parliament of daily acts of Christian worship. RSA Executive Director Si Gladman said broad secular reform was needed to address unfair and discriminatory
treatment of non-religious Australians, and urged Mr Albanese to begin by addressing the imposition of daily Christian prayers in parliament. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN US supreme court blocks religious charter school in split ruling 23 May: The US supreme court on Thursday blocked an attempt led by two
Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation’s first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education that challenged the constitutional separation of church and state. Read the full
article |
| ABC RADIO Proposal to pardon paedophile priest sparks anger in East Timor 22 May: In East Timor, there’s growing public anger over a government proposal to
pardon a paedophile former-Catholic priest. American Richard Daschbach is four years into a 12-year jail term but a pardon slated for this week could see him free. Listen to the full episode |
| THE GUARDIAN State and federal MPs describe death threats and vile abuse in wake of Joanna Howe’s anti-abortion campaign 21 May: State and federal MPs
around the country say they and their staff have received death threats from third parties amid controversy generated by the self-described “assertiveness” of the anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe, who has campaigned for anti-abortion laws in various state parliaments. Read the full article |
| NIGHTLY (VIA CATH NEWS) Pitt says Church still relevant to Australia’s strategic interests 21 May: Australia’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Keith Pitt,
says the Catholic Church remains relevant to Australia’s strategic interests, citing its charitable work in the Pacific as a prime example. Read the full article |
| NT NEWS (VIA CATH NEWS) NT Opposition plans to force Government’s hand on VAD 21 May: The Northern Territory Opposition has started the process of
developing a private member’s bill on euthanasia, in an attempt to force action from the CLP Government, which remains mute on the topic amid another inquiry. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Exclusive Brethren plans new members-only supermarket in Melbourne’s north-east 19 May: The secretive Exclusive Brethren religious sect has moved
to expand its sprawling business empire with a new supermarket planned in Melbourne’s north-east to serve only church followers. A company directed by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) bought 25-31 Sherbourne Road in Briar Hill for $6.3 million, property records show. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Albanese invites Pope Leo XIV to visit Australia in private meeting at the Vatican 19 May: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has held a private
audience with Pope Leo XIV to invite the pontiff to visit Australia, while discussing topics ranging from religious freedom to global conflict. The rare one-on-one talks, the first for an Australian prime minister in 16 years, included a deeply personal moment when Albanese asked the Pope to bless his mother’s rosary beads. Read the full article |
| THE AUSTRALIAN (VIA CATH NEWS) Senior Liberal senator says abortion a matter for states, territories19 May: A senior Liberal senator has not confirmed if the Coalition’s position on
abortion could change, as the Opposition rethinks its national platform in the wake of its election decimation. Anne Ruston yesterday kept tight-lipped about whether abortion was up for debate after a push from some in her party. “As far as I’m concerned, the issue of abortion is something that’s well and truly in the domain of the states and territories and should stay there,” she said. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Oklahoma high schools to teach 2020 election conspiracy theories as fact18 May: As part of the latest Republican push in red states to promote ideologies sympathetic to
Donald Trump, Oklahoma’s new social studies curriculum will ask high school students to identify “discrepancies” in the 2020 election results. Read the full article |
| THE WEST AUSTRALIAN Archbishop Timothy Costelloe says PM’s presence in Rome strengthens relations with Holy See17 May: Archbishop Timothy Costelloe says the Prime Minister’s presence
in Vatican City for the inauguration mass of Pope Leo XIV will strengthen the relationship between Australia and the Holy See. Archbishop Costelloe described Anthony Albanese’s attendance alongside other major world leaders as a “wonderful thing.” Read the full article |
On Sky News recently, psychologist and cult survivor Maria Esquerra welcomed the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into cults and fringe groups as "well overdue”. What do you think? Email your comments to: sigladman@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Faith in the firing line: Evidence shows military
service turns people off religion Phillip Hoglin: In one of the many unexpected stories to come from the 2021 national Census data – which included questions on military service for the first time – religious affiliation of veterans is lower than for both the general public and currently serving permanent force Defence members. Far from turning people towards God, there might be something about military experience,
or the type of person who joins the military, that leads to more people walking away from religion or not believing in a religion to start with. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Coercion, control and worship: Where do we draw the line between a religion and a cult? Is a cult a misunderstood religion? Or something much
more dangerous? The line between high-control religions, new religious movements, and 'cults' is as grey as ever. But the fascination we have with these groups is only getting stronger. What counts as a 'cult'? Listen to the full
episode |
| ABC RADIO Straying from strict parents What is it like to grow up in a strict religious or cultural household - and what happens when you no longer
agree with your parents’ worldview? The decision to defy or rebel can be traumatic, sometimes leading to estrangement or disownment. Is it possible for relationships to be reconciled, even where profound differences persist? Listen to the full
episode |
| SBS Why a former High Court judge is 'very concerned' about attacks on these Australians 17 May: Human rights lawyer Michael Kirby says there's
no chance he would have had a legal career, let alone become a high-profile High Court justice, had he come out as gay as a young man. On at least a weekly basis at that time, the front pages of newspapers were filled with stories about LGBTIQ+ people "who had been entrapped by police and humiliated and denounced", Kirby says. Read the full article |
| THE AGE He was made Australia’s race discrimination commissioner. But his dad had questions Giridharan Sivaraman: Since I entered the world of
law – which is a lot like the world of science; all about facts, evidence and the truth – I moved away from [Hinduism]. The other thing is, there’s not much room for Hindu beliefs in public life. At my ceremony to be admitted as a solicitor, I had two choices: take an oath on the Bible or have a secular affirmation. Even legal events started with a Christian prayer. Read the full article |
| ABC How the Catholic Church ended up with its own sovereign state Anna Levy: According to Catholic belief, in the first century AD, the apostle
Peter was martyred and buried at Vatican Hill, a small hill on the west bank of the Tiber river. After Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire in 313 AD, a shrine and a church were built to honour Saint Peter and it became a site of worship and pilgrimage for early Christians. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Supreme Court’s one-sentence order closes the door to Catholic charter school – but leaves it open for future challenges Charles J.
Russo: On its face, the Supreme Court’s terse, one-sentence opinion means that Oklahoma cannot presently create and fund a Roman Catholic charter school – an online K-12 institution. However, because the Supreme Court did not address the underlying merits of the claim, it arguably leaves the door open to similar challenges in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Read the full article |
| ABC New Zealand and the US debate the question: Should public money fund charter schools? Emily Clark: New charter schools are opening in New
Zealand as the United States Supreme Court says it is deadlocked in a decision over one in a case that has threatened the separation of church and state in American education. Over two years, the New Zealand government will spend nearly $140 million on charter schools — a type of school that is not required to adhere to the national curriculum. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Is every nationalist a potential fascist? A historian weighs in Xosé M. Núñez Seixas: Nationalism is typically seen as the
preserve of right-wing politics, and it has long been a cornerstone of authoritarian and fascist governments around the world. In democratic countries the term “nationalism” is linked to national chauvinism – a belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own nation and its citizens – but the picture is more complex than it first seems. Read the full article |
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