RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 14 June 2025 Hi , Are we going to see a repeat of the 'World Youth Day' funding controversy, with Australian governments asking taxpayers to cover the costs of another private religious event? The
Catholic Church’s upcoming International Eucharistic Congress, set for Sydney in 2028, has all the hallmarks. So we've written to the federal treasurer and the New South Wales treasurer, warning them that Australians have little appetite for funding the private evangelising activities of faith groups (see article 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 Government-funded chaplains in faith schools appear to be
performing religious activities11 Jun: The chaplaincy and pastoral care capabilities of many faith-based schools that receive millions of public funding under the National Student Wellbeing Program (NSWP) appear to be performing religious activities as part of their role. The Rationalist Society of Australia has found that the websites of numerous religious schools receiving federal funding for the NSWP say that their chaplains and
pastoral carers actively contribute to the faith formation of children. The RSA can also reveal that new data shows almost 30 per cent of funding for the program is going to faith-based schools. Read the full
article |
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| RSA RSA warns treasurers against repeat of World Youth Day funding
controversy8 Jun: The Rationalist Society of Australia has warned the federal government and New South Wales government that taxpayers have little appetite for funding private evangelising activities of faith groups, with an upcoming Catholic event raising the prospects of a repeat of the World Youth Day controversy. In letters to the federal and state treasurers, the RSA has sought confirmation on whether their governments would ask
taxpayers to help cover the costs of the Catholic Church’s International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 2028. Read the full article |
| ABC Judge in Wissam Haddad's trial asks if 'racist generalisations' vital to religious freedom 13 Jun: A judge has questioned why allegedly racist comments
in a sermon were needed to freely exercise religion, on the final day of a Sydney preacher's racial discrimination trial. Wissam Haddad, an Islamic teacher, is being sued for comments that allegedly breached Commonwealth laws against offensive behaviour because of race. Read the full article |
| MELBOURNE ANGLICAN Churches must equip young people against cults: Expert 13 Jun: Young Christians are being left vulnerable to deceptive cult recruiting
across Melbourne, an expert warns. A Victorian parliamentary inquiry is examining whether coercive control tactics used by cults and fringe groups should face criminal sanctions. The inquiry comes as groups such as Shincheonji Church of Jesus are actively targeting Christians across university campuses and online. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Southern Baptists endorse repealing the legalization of same-sex marriage in the US 12 Jun: Human rights groups spoke out on Wednesday against
an overwhelming vote by Southern Baptists, the US’s largest Protestant denomination, to endorse a resolution that would seek to overturn the legalization of same-sex marriage by the US supreme court. Read the full article |
| OUT IN PERTH As Tasmanians head to the polls politicians urged to take action on conversion therapy 12 Jun: Equality Tasmania says prohibiting conversion
practices is an urgent priority for the state and is seeking an election commitment from all parties to enact the overdue reform before the end of the year. Spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said only Tasmania and Western Australia lacked legislation in this area. Read the full article |
| THE AGE ‘Reclaim the classroom’: Catholic school discipline goes back to basics 11 Jun: Students will face a stricter disciplinary regime at Melbourne’s
Catholic schools in a bid to “reclaim the classroom” from social media, unruly behaviour, inattention and disrespect. A new Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools framework will aim to make respectful student behaviour a core focus. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Muslim cleric tells court Jewish people can’t be offended by him calling them ‘vile’ as lectures were private 11 Jun: A Sydney Muslim cleric
being sued for alleged racial discrimination has told the federal court no Jewish person could be offended over a series of lectures in which he described Jewish people in the seventh century as “mischievous”, “treacherous” and “vile” because the lectures were delivered to a private Muslim audience. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Australian universities hesitate on antisemitism definition amid academic freedom concerns 11 Jun: Months after the release of a new
definition of antisemitism, a string of Australian universities are yet to adopt it amid concerns it may contravene academic freedom. The academic board at the Australian National University has declined to adopt the definition, paving the way for the university to become the first to reject the policy, while at least 11 other institutions have not yet made a decision. Read the full article |
| ABC ACT Greens announce bill that would make institutions vicariously liable for sexual abuse by employees 10 Jun: The ACT Greens have unveiled a bill
aimed at making institutions such as the Catholic Church, Scouts and sporting groups vicariously liable for the actions of those associated with them who have sexually abused children. This includes priests, Scouts leaders, and sports coaches who may have a relationship with the organisation akin to employment, even though it is not strictly an employment relationship. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Scott Morrison sought advice to obstruct Nauru asylum seekers from accessing abortions, documents reveal 8 Jun: Scott Morrison overrode
medical advice in the case of an asylum seeker in offshore detention trying to access an abortion, and had previously sought advice that would effectively prevent access to terminations entirely, ministerial advice reveals. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE The arguments for scripture are a good
advertisement for General Religious Education Hugh Harris: If you ever sought an illustration of how a narrow phalanx of special interests can elbow aside popular opinion, then look no further than the continued presence of scripture classes in Australian public schools. Yes, in taxpayer-funded institutions founded as free, secular and compulsory we still witness the weekly incursion of untrained, ecclesiastical
volunteers delivering lessons indistinguishable from Sunday School. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Letters to the Editor: ‘Heritage’ is no argument
against change on parliamentary prayers Robert Bender: The heritage argument is always about preserving a static society and resisting change, usually long after the heritage ceases to be valued by the society in which it has long been normal practice. Australia no longer has a Christian culture. Instead, it has had, for many decades, a multicultural pluralistic culture. Strong religious belief now characterises a
shrinking minority of the population. Read the full article |
| THE SATURDAY PAPER How abortion is weaponised in family court Madison Griffiths: How does a woman’s history of abortion become probative in a
custody battle? Jason Chin, senior law lecturer at the Australian National University, is unsure, describing such use as “horrific”. Dr Sue Brumby, one of Australia’s pioneering abortion practitioners, says admittance of abortion records is the “psychological aspect of domestic violence”. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Can the new Melbourne Anglican Archbishop revive a shrinking church? Christianity may be thriving in much of the global south but, for the
Anglicans of Melbourne, times are tougher. They’re now just 5.5 per cent of the population, according to the census. Will their new Archbishop be able to turn around the fortunes of a shrinking church base? Listen to the episode |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD 'A living hell': X-Men star on growing up gay in Opus Dei Tim Pocock: The claustrophobic pressures of my religious family,
and the constant monitoring and manipulation I faced during my education at the hands of Opus Dei, had left me completely unprepared for the real world, unable to be myself and, most importantly, ashamed of who I was. Read the
full article |
| NEW STATESMAN Australia is no model for assisted dying Hannah Barnes: Although Australian states extend the six-month life expectancy
requirement to a year for those with neurodegenerative conditions, in terms of eligibility, process and safeguards, their laws are similar to the UK’s bill. The two differ only in that self-administration of life-ending drugs would be permitted here, and a multidisciplinary panel would review cases. Read the full article |
| STUFF (NZ) Did you know these well-known businesses are actually charities... and exempt from taxes? Emma Ricketts: It is well-known that New
Zealand charities benefit from various tax exemptions. But it is less well-known that these exemptions extend to the business arms of charities, even when they operate in direct competition with for-profit businesses. It is a well-known fact that Sanitarium, the maker of iconic products like Weet-Bix, Marmite, So Good and Up & Go is a trading subsidiary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and exempt from taxation. Read the full article |
| PEW RESEARCH CENTRE How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 Globally, Christians remain the largest religion category in number,
while Muslims and religiously unaffiliated people were the fastest-growing groups from 2010 to 2020. The rise of the “nones” was fueled by switching out of Christianity. Read the full article |
| VOX Donald Trump is building a strange, new religious movement Katherine Kelaidis: President Donald Trump is trying to create a new religious
right, one that is not just illiberal but fundamentally different and opposed to traditional religion as we’ve known it. The faith of the MAGA movement is not one in which the state conforms to the church, but one in which the church is bent to the will of the strange beast that is American nationalism. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN We are Nobel laureates, scientists, writers and artists. The threat of fascism is back On 1 May 1925, with Benito Mussolini already in
power, a group of Italian intellectuals publicly denounced his fascist regime in an open letter. The signatories – scientists, philosophers, writers and artists – took a stand in support of the essential tenets of a free society: the rule of law, personal liberty and independent thinking, culture, art and science. Today, 100 years later, the threat of fascism is back – and so we must summon that courage and defy it again. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Young men converting to Russian Orthodoxy in the US Russia and the US have not traditionally been close culturally but there’s a few shifts
going on. The Trump administration has a very different relationship and attitude towards Moscow than usual. And mirroring that is an increased conversion to the very conservative, traditional and some say masculine Russian Orthodox Church in pockets of the US. Listen
to the full episode |
| THE GUARDIAN US universities are moving to the right. Will it help them escape Trump’s wrath? J Oliver Conroy: The Trump administration is
pursuing an unprecedented pressure campaign on Harvard, on the grounds that it discriminates against white people and tolerates antisemitism. While many faculty and students at Harvard may still affiliate with the left, their power and influence feel pale in comparison with just a short time ago. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Blasphemy Laws 2.0: The conviction of Hamit Coskun Noel Yaxley: If you thought blasphemy laws had been officially abolished in
Britain, think again. A recent case illustrates that they are still alive and well, albeit in inchoate form. It’s Blasphemy 2.0, administered through a legal and linguistic sleight-of-hand. Hamit Coskun’s recent conviction is a chilling reversal of free expression’s historic victory. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN I really hate to say it, but I agree with JD Vance. Britain has a free speech problem Arwa Mahdawi: I hate to say this – like, I
really, really hate to say this – but JD Vance had a point when he told Keir Starmer that Britain has a free speech problem during an Oval Office meeting in February. Vance is obviously a raging hypocrite who mainly seems obsessed with the right of religious extremists to harass women having abortions, but he is not wrong about Britain’s free speech problem. Read the full article |
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