RSA Weekly Saturday 29 November 2025 Hi , You may remember that earlier this year we made a joint submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review into Australia's human rights, detailing a
number of examples of discrimination against non-religious Australians in government institutions and programs. Since then, we have followed up by raising the same concerns with numerous government institutions and urging them to address this discrimination. This week, we sent a joint letter to the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, seeking answers from the Albanese government (see
the top story). We'll keep you up to date if we receive a response. 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 Coalition of groups questions Attorney-General over Australia’s
treatment of non-religious people29 Nov: A coalition of non-religious, ex-religious and pro-secular groups is seeking answers from the Albanese government on how it will address ongoing discrimination against non-religious Australians in government institutions and programs. In a letter to the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, the Rationalist Society of Australia and seven other organisations detailed a number of examples of
discriminatory and unfair treatment against non-religious people in breach of Australia’s international human rights commitments. Read the full article |
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| RSA Councillor claims observing prayers in meetings “not about
pushing religion”, as Oberon keeps prayers26 Nov: Councillors who chose to have acts of Christian worship retained in formal government meetings over the option of holding prayers in private have argued that the decision was about “returning spirituality in the community” but “not about pushing any religion”. At the October meeting of Oberon Council, councillors rejected a proposal to amend the Code of Meeting Practice to replace prayers.
Read the full article |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD McKenzie slams Liberal moderates after drawing lines on migration policy 29 Nov: Liberal Party moderates have set red lines for
Sussan Ley as the Coalition prepares a new immigration policy, making clear they will not abide a Pauline Hanson-lite, anti-migrant agenda, as the opposition leader ups her criticism of the One Nation leader’s burqa stunt. “I do not want to see anyone’s religion mocked,” Ley told Inside Politics podcast. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Backlash at upmarket primary school over class size shock 28 Nov: Parents at one of the state’s most expensive primary schools have reacted angrily
to news that grade 5 class sizes would increase by 25 per cent next year. Families say Christ Church Grammar School charges nearly $35,000 for grade 5 tuition fees and markets itself on small class sizes. Read the full
article |
| THE GUARDIAN Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claims University of Adelaide gave her immunity from complaints 28 Nov: Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe,
who has pledged to make abortion “unthinkable”, says the University of Adelaide, which employs her as a law professor, has agreed that those with ideologically opposed viewpoints to hers will be deemed “vexatious”. Read the full article |
| MIRAGE NEWS NSW Parliament Passes Worship Protection Bill 28 Nov: The Minns Government has passed legislation ensuring people can continue attending places
of worship without being blocked, harassed or intimidated. Legislation passed parliament on Thursday, confirming police have the power to move on protesters who affect someone's ability to enter or leave their place of worship. Read the full
article |
| ABC The Vatican records first budget surplus in years, driven by $421 million in donations 27 Nov: Donations to the Holy See worth more than 237 million
euros ($421 million) helped it turned around a 51 million euro deficit to record its first surplus in years, according to the Vatican's economic secretariat. A budget report issued on Wednesday showed the Holy See generated an income of more than 1.23 billion euros in 2024. Read the full article |
| SYDNEY MORNING HERALD Principal who shredded notes about child sex allegations promoted by Catholic Church 27 Nov: A private school principal who shredded
notes containing details of a youth ministry officer grooming underage students was promoted within the diocese two weeks before the offender was found guilty on multiple counts of child rape. Read the full
article |
| ABC Anglican Diocese of Ballarat selling properties, closing local parish due to abuse payouts 27 Nov: The Anglican Bishop of Ballarat says regional
dioceses around Australia are facing financial pressure and potential closure due to having to pay millions of dollars to abuse victim-survivors. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Rightwing influencers spin anti-Muslim rage in Michigan for social media reach 27 Nov: White nationalist and rightwing agitators recently
descended on Dearborn, Michigan, to hold an anti-Islam rally at which they attempted to burn a Qur’an and manufacture controversy over the city’s large Arab American population. Read the full article |
| DAILY TELEGRAPH Mormon Church allegedly exploited $750m ATO loophole 26 Nov: A submission to a government inquiry has alleged the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is a cult and allegedly exploited a loophole to claim up to $750m in tax deductions in Australia. Read the full
article |
| YAHOO NEWS (CANADA) New secularism bill to ban face coverings in Quebec universities 26 Nov: The Legault government will toughen up existing laws enforcing
its policies on secularism, extending its ban on religious symbols to future employees of private schools and cutting funding to schools that base student recruitment on religion. Read the full article |
| DAILY TELEGRAPH Brethren Church linked business network repays millions to ATO 25 Nov: The business network linked to the Plymouth Brethren Christian
Church has agreed to make a payment of several million dollars to the Australian Taxation Office. The significant "voluntary disclosure" follows a major raid last year on the offices of the Universal Business Team and some of the Brethren’s charities and its global school headquarters. Read the full article |
| ABC Australia's 2026 Census to include new questions on gender and sexuality 25 Nov: Australians aged 16 and over will be asked in the 2026 Census to
identify their sexual orientation and sex recorded at birth, according to new and updated questions announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Pauline Hanson suspended from Senate over burqa stunt 25 Nov: Pauline Hanson has been censured by the Senate and suspended from the chamber
for seven days after her burqa stunt and will be barred from representing the parliament in overseas delegations. The motion, as agreed by the Senate, stated that Hanson’s actions were “intended to vilify and mock people on the basis of their religion”. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Academics who say they are ‘pro-white’ turn spotlight on Sydney’s Campion College 23 Nov: An influential Catholic college in Sydney is under
investigation by the higher education regulator over a series of comments made by two of its prominent academics supporting the White Australia policy and calling for Anglo-Celtic Australians and Europeans to become a “supermajority” in the country. Read the full article |
| ABC How migrant and overseas Christians are helping keep Australian churches alive 23 Nov: An Anglican Church bishop in Queensland's north says that his 11
Pacific Islander ministers, serving the region's parishes, is saving those parishes from collapse. Bishop Keith Joseph said priests and brothers have been recruited from the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu to fill service gaps in regional towns. Read the full article |
| THE AGE ‘Spiritual blessing scam’ robs elderly woman of $130,000 saved for ill health 22 Nov: A woman has been jailed over an international spiritual
blessing scam in which elderly victims are lured into believing their relatives are possessed by evil spirits and will die unless they take part in fake rituals. Read the full article |
At Oberon Council in New South Wales last month, Councillor Ian Tucker made the case – unsuccessfully – for moving prayers from the formal business of meetings so that council could no longer impose religion on himself, colleagues, staff and members of the public in attendance. What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Algorithms are amplifying antifeminist
masculinities Maya Del Rio Reddan: The online world of boys and young men in the post-Andrew Tate moment is now saturated with masculinity influencers who take ideas, advice, talking points and ideologies from the ‘manosphere’ – a loose online network of men’s interest communities known for its virulent misogyny, coordinated antifeminist campaigns and cases of extreme real-world violence. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE How violent extremists wield words as
weapons Awni Etaywe: Words are powerful tools. Violent extremists know this well, often choosing their phrasing extremely carefully to build loyalty among their followers. When wielded just so, they can do enormous harm. Because their words are chosen so deliberately, researchers can look for patterns, trends and red flags. Read the full article |
| FREEDOM FOR FAITH Statement on the Federal Electoral Matters Inquiry The Committee has repeatedly focused on one faith group — the Plymouth Brethren
Christian Church — after media reports claimed that many of their members volunteered during the election. Instead of celebrating civic participation, some questioning has targeted them because of their faith and political engagement. This sets a dangerous precedent for people of all faith traditions. Read the full article |
| THE AGE The saint, the Christian Brother and the schoolboy’s $2m sex abuse claim Riley Walter: The move to the school, run by Catholic religious
order the Christian Brothers, promised to set Burdett on the right path. Almost immediately, the school’s principal, Brother Robert Callen, took an interest in Burdett. In the two years after his arrival at St John’s College, Burdett alleges, Callen groomed him, sexually abused him on several occasions and inflicted trauma on him that lingers more than 30 years later. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’ Sonia Faleiro: Beneath the surface, the Buddhism practised
across Asia has shifted. While still widely followed as a peaceful, nonviolent philosophy, it has been weaponised, in some quarters, in the service of nationalism, and in support of governments embracing a global trend toward majoritarianism and autocracy. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER The sadistic rewards of cancel culture Nick Cohen: Pinker says the reason why we have seen an attack on academic freedom in the
US that has, astonishingly, claimed more victims than McCarthyism is that persecutors dare not allow dangerous ideas to be debated. They fear reactionaries will abuse and distort them for their own wicked ends. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (UK) Is British politics immune to US-style rightwing Christianity? We’re about to find out Lamorna Ash: The British right is
increasingly invoking the Christian tradition: the question is what it hopes to gain from doing so. Until recently, there were no obvious British analogues to political figures on the US right such as Vance, the Catholic-convert for whom religion plays a foundational political role. Read the full article |
| ABC Nicholas Fuentes, Tucker Carlson and the normalisation of evil Andrew Gleeson: The new contenders — an alliance of white supremacists,
antisemites and theocrats — want not so much “America First” as “Whites Only”, and in international affairs a return to near isolationism, including a complete withdrawal of support for Israel and a termination of what they see as malign Israeli influence (read “Jewish control”) over the American government. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN
They’re doing to America what they did to Christianity Bill McKibben: We have watched over the years as rightwing evangelical churches turned the Jesus we grew
up with into exactly the opposite of who we understood him to be. At its most basic, they turned a figure of love into a figure of hate who blesses precisely the cruelties that he condemned in the Gospel. Read the full
article |
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