RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Sunday 5 October 2025 Hi , We are deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Professor Marion Maddox. Marion was one Australia’s leading researchers working at the intersection of religion and politics.
She authored titles including God Under Howard: The Rise of The Religious Right in Australian Politics, and Taking God to School: The End of Australia’s Egalitarian Education. It was a privilege to have Marion appear at one of our webinars in 2021, speaking on the topic of what was driving the ‘religious freedom’ agenda and religious-based activism in Australian politics.
You can watch that webinar here on our YouTube channel. Vale, Marion. 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 WA education department “considering” RSA’s feedback over use of
“values education” propaganda line1 Oct: A state education department that regurgitates the propaganda line that independent and faith schools provide “values education”, while not mentioning the values of public education, says it aims to provide “impartial information”. Late last month, the West Australian Department of Education responded to the Rationalist Society of Australia‘s letter that raised concerns about content that the
department provided for prospective parents on its website. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN FBI cuts ties with two advocacy groups that track US extremism after rightwing backlash 4 Oct: Kash Patel, the FBI director, says the agency
is cutting ties with two organisations that for decades have tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias, a move that follows complaints about the groups from some conservatives and prominent allies of president Donald Trump. Read the full
article |
| THE AGE First woman appointed archbishop of Canterbury 3 Oct: Sarah Mullally has been appointed the new archbishop of Canterbury, the first time a woman
has been named leader of the Church of England in the 1400-year history of the role. The appointment of a woman risks deeper theological divides with some of the more conservative branches of the church in African nations. Read the full
article |
| ABC Australian Jewish community devastated by attack at UK synagogue 3 Oct: The Executive Council of Australian Jewry says the attack at a synagogue in
Manchester on the holy day of Yom Kippur is devastating. British police declared Thursday's deadly car and stabbing attack on the synagogue in the UK's north a terrorist incident. Read the full article |
| ABC Victorian church under investigation after pastor's son sexually assaulted teenager 2 Oct: A Victorian church is under investigation amid a widening
controversy involving the son of its senior pastor, who was convicted of a child sex crime. The ABC understands Victoria Police, the state's education department and a church peak body are among the agencies looking into alleged events linked to the Encourage Church and the governance of the childcare centre it runs in Romsey. Read the full article |
| CATH NEWS NT Government to draft voluntary assisted dying bill 2 Oct: Voluntary assisted dying laws will be introduced to the Northern Territory
Parliament, with the Country Liberal Government confirming yesterday it will move ahead with drafting a bill. On Tuesday, the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee handed down a report recommending VAD be adopted in the NT. Read the full
article |
| NEWS WA school teachers told to avoid sharing their personal views on divisive topics 2 Oct: Public school teachers have been told to avoid sharing their
personal, religious or political views when discussing divisive topics in the classroom, under new Education Department guidelines. A leaked document revealed the state’s public school teachers have been directed on how to handle controversial topics around cultural, religious and social justice issues that divide opinion. Read the full article |
| THE AGE The far-right figures teaching students at a Sydney college 1 Oct: Stephen McInerney and Stephen Chavura both teach at Campion, a well-connected
college in Sydney’s west that promises undergraduates a vibrant campus, Catholic values, and a focus on the classics. The pair also promotes white nationalism. Following questions from this masthead, Campion College is now investigating the academics who argue that Australia’s Anglo-European culture is under existential threat. Read the full article |
| VATICAN NEWS Pope Leo XIV urges European institutions to promote a 'healthy secularism' 29 Sep: In greeting the 'Working Group on Intercultural and
Interreligious Dialogue,' an initiative of the European Parliament, Pope Leo XIV said European institutions “need people who know how to live a healthy secularism”, adding that this entailed a style of thinking and action that “affirms the value of religion while preserving the distinction — not separation or confusion — from the political sphere." Read the full article |
| THE GAZETTE Aldred calls for chaplaincy support 26 Sep: The Liberal Party’s federal member for Monash, Mary Aldred, has called for continued support of the
chaplaincy in schools program. Ms Aldred said there was never a more important time to support the federal government funded program. Read the full article |
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie – who has previously refused to answer media questions about his religious beliefs – told a church podcast last year that the world “does have intelligent design” and that Genesis answers “big questions” about our origins. What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE The world “does have intelligent design”, says
Andrew Hastie Si Gladman: Rationale has discovered a podcast interview in which Hastie discusses Genesis – the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity that describes the creation of the Earth and humankind – with a pastor from Eastlake Church in Mandurah. In the interview, Hastie says that Genesis “answers a few of the big questions upfront”, including about our origins. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Why immigration has become the scapegoat for our
age of crisis Alan Gamlen: When economies sputter, when public services strain, when communities feel fragmented, immigration becomes the symbol for everything wrong with globalisation. It offers politicians a visceral, easy-to-grasp story: “Your housing is unaffordable because of them. Your hospital is overcrowded because of them. Your jobs are threatened because of them.” Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION Moral panics intensify social divisions and can lead to political violence Ron Barrett: Dehumanization is perhaps the most
crucial ingredient of a social panic. This involves labeling people according to categories that deprive them of positive human qualities. This labeling process is often conducted by “moral entrepreneurs” – people invested by their societies with the authority to make such claims in an official, unquestionable and seemingly objective way. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Has US Christian nationalism crossed the pond to the UK? The streets of London recently filled with thousands of protesters taking part in
so-called “Unite the Kingdom” rallies. Some used Christian symbols to bolster their cause, prompting a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to warn against co-opting the cross for nationalist campaigns. Has the Christian nationalism that defines much of the American Right now migrated to Britain? Listen to the full episode |
| THE GUARDIAN When I was married at 13 I was told refusal would end in my death. Now girls in Iraq as young as nine face the same fate Shams Ali:
My experience was not an isolated incident, but an early glimpse of what Iraq’s new law legalising marriage from the age of nine may mean. It opens the door for my story to repeat itself with countless other girls – children who will be robbed of choice and pushed into unequal relationships under the cover of law. Read the full article |
| COUNCIL OF FOREIGN RELATIONS Lynching in the Name of God Ebenezer Obadare: Two recent episodes of religiously motivated violence in northern
Nigeria serve as a reminder of the growing threat to law and order by the forces of religious bigotry in the country. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Digging for Christian Foundations: Tom Holland on Triggernometry Adam Wakeling: The impact of religion on society is a
fascinating area of study, and the impact of Christianity on traditionally Christian Western societies is no exception. The faith has left a cross-shaped indent in our collective minds. But at the same time, it is very easy to overstate its importance. Read
the full article |
| THE OTHER CHEEK Some culture war fights are hills NOT to die on John Sandeman: Christians should carefully pick which social issues to fight,
Patrick Parkinson, the former Dean of Law at the University of Queensland, told Freedom for Faith’s “Freedom 25” conference. Parkinson introduced five principles for wise campaigning, outlining several case studies from his new book Unshaken Allegiance, including several where Christians may not have been wise. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Why does a young US Muslim pine for the old-fashioned religious right? Why would a liberal Muslim who spent his teenage and college years
arguing against the power of Christianity in American politics now pine for the old-fashioned religious right? Why would he look kindly on a Republican president who started a war in Iraq and call it a “religious crusade”? Listen to the full
episode |
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