RSA Weekly For atheists, rationalists and secular humanists in Australia
Saturday 25 October 2025 Hi , Unsurprisingly, the religious lobbyists who have been appearing before a Victorian inquiry into cults and high-control groups in recent days have warned against the introduction of
coercive control laws that may impact religious freedoms. Meanwhile, people who support cult survivors say the situation is worsening and governments need to act. In Canada, media reports suggest that the federal government there will soon confirm whether it will be going ahead with removing 'advancement of religion' as a charitable purpose. We'll keep a watch on that. 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 Redrafting of WA equal opportunity laws “continuing as matter of
priority”, says Attorney-General24 Oct: The West Australian government has confirmed it remains committed to reforming the state’s equal opportunity laws following questions from the Rationalist Society of Australia about the lack of action on religious exemptions. In a letter to the RSA this week, Attorney-General Tony Buti said that drafting work on a new Equal Opportunity Act was ongoing. Last month, the RSA asked Mr Buti about when the
government would deliver on its commitment to address the broad religious exemptions that allow religious schools to discriminate. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Charles shakes off 500 years of history with simple act in Sistine Chapel 25 Oct: King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican’s
Sistine Chapel on Thursday, in the first joint worship including an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff since King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in 1534. Read the full article |
| CATHOLIC WEEKLY (VIA CATH NEWS) Proposed amendment to Marriage Act defeated in NSW Parliament 22 Oct: Legislation that would ensure the legal validity of
religious marriages has been narrowly defeated in a 16-20 vote of the New South Wales Legislative Council. The July 1 commencement of the sex self-identification provisions of the Equality Legislation Amendment Act 2024, which enable a person to change the sex on their birth certificate using an administrative process, presented a challenge for the civil validity of religious marriages. Read the full article |
| CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY Report warns revoking churches’ charitable status in Canada could devastate faith sector 22 Oct: A new report from the Frontier Centre
for Public Policy warns that removing the “advancement of religion” from Canada’s list of recognized charitable purposes could have far-reaching social and financial consequences for churches and other faith-based organizations. Read the full article |
| THE CATHOLIC REGISTER (CANADA) Church charity status won't be removed, MP says 21 Oct: Liberal MP Karina Gould, the chair of the House of Commons’ Standing
Committee on Finance, is signalling the charitable status of faith-driven non-profits will not be revoked in the budget her party’s government is set to unveil. The Catholic Register was forwarded an email Gould’s office issued to Rev. Al Postma, confirming the federal government will not be reviewing the charitable status of religious organizations. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Proposed UK Islamophobia definition allows for right to criticise religion, source says 21 Oct: A new definition of Islamophobia being
considered by UK ministers is expected to protect the freedom to criticise Islam, the Guardian understands. The government launched a working group in February to “define unacceptable treatment, prejudice, discrimination and hate targeting Muslims or anyone who is perceived to be Muslim.” Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Australian Christian Lobby says any new laws protecting people from cults could be ‘very dangerous’ 21 Oct: Two Christian lobby groups have
pushed back against any new laws to protect vulnerable people from cults, with a Victorian inquiry told of a “palpable fear” they could affect mainstream churches. The Australian Christian Lobby and Freedom for Faith were among witnesses to appear before the parliamentary inquiry into cults and organised fringe groups on Tuesday. Read the full article |
| THE NIGHTLY Australian Christian Lobby push back on 'very dangerous' cult laws 21 Oct: The Australian Christian Lobby’s Victorian director Jasmine Yuen
told the inquiry new legislation would be redundant as some people were “so brainwashed” they could not recognise they were in a cult. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Burqa ban bill approved by Portugal’s parliament seen as targeting Muslim women 18 Oct: Portugal’s parliament has approved a bill banning face
veils worn for “gender or religious” reasons in public, in a move seen as targeting Muslim women who wear face coverings. The measure was proposed by the far-right Chega party and would prohibit coverings such as burqas and niqabs from being worn in most public places. Read the full article |
| BBC Uruguay legalises assisted dying after 10-hour debate 16 Oct: Uruguay has become the first country in Latin America to pass a law that allows assisted
dying. The Dignified Death bill was passed in the senate on Wednesday, with 20 out of 31 legislators present voting in favour. The bill allows mentally sound adults in the terminal stage of an irreversible disease to opt for the procedure to be performed by a healthcare professional. Read the full
article |
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| RATIONALE Building a stable ‘abode of thought’: Kant’s rules
for virtuous thinking Alexander Englert: Kant recommends what philosophers call ‘epistemic humility’, or humility about our own knowledge. Stepping outside our own beliefs isn’t just about opening up new perspectives. It’s also the bedrock of science, which seeks shared agreement about what is and is not true. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE How authoritarians twist language into
weapons Matthew Sharpe: The world finds itself in a cultural setting in which large swathes of democratic countries place their faith in faux salvific ‘strongmen’, part of whose ‘populist’ appeal is based on their ability to lie, exaggerate, and bully opponents with impunity. The philosopher, author, and French resistance member Albert Camus wrote that the struggle against totalitarianism was a struggle to
preserve a few vital distinctions. It lies in the ability to think and speak clearly. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Australia’s cults crisis: why more people are falling prey to insidious high-control groups Benita Kolovos: Raphael Aron says it’s
time for “something to be done” about cults as “the situation continues to spiral” and he is not alone in his concerns. Survivors and experts painted a disturbing picture of “high-control” groups operating in Victoria over two days of hearings this week at the inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups. Read the full article |
| SKEPTIC Why Secularists Calling for a Christian Revival Are Wrong Helen Pluckrose: I urge skeptics to recognize themselves as heirs of the
Enlightenment and not to try to resurrect Christianity, but to rekindle confidence in the liberal tradition that made modern Western civilization possible: a tradition that values evidence, reason, pluralism, and the rights of individuals. Read the full
article |
| SBS PODCAST The Right to Die: Dr Philip Nitschke on Voluntary Assisted Dying In this episode, Anthony and Nadine ask Philip Nitschke, the renowned and
sometimes controversial doctor, about the state of VAD laws in Australia and beyond, technological developments, and why his colleague was arrested in Switzerland. Listen to the full episode |
| PEARLS & IRRITATIONS Islamophobia in Australian schools: What the Special Envoy’s report means for education Lara Alqudah, et al: It is the
first time the federal government has produced a comprehensive strategy to address Islamophobia. It draws on evidence from Muslim communities, service providers, and researchers across the country. Some commentators have compared Malik’s report to Jillian Segal’s recent plan to address antisemitism. The contrast could not be sharper. Read the full article |
| FINANCIAL POST (CANADA) Opinion: Advancement of religion benefits everyone Rev. Andrew Bennett: When Finance Minister François-Philippe
Champagne introduces his federal budget this fall, there’s at least one item he should leave out: eliminating the “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose. Atheist activists have long sought to eliminate charities’ ability to issue tax receipts to donors if their primary purpose is the advancement of religion. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN From scapegoats to city hall: how New York Muslims built power and shaped Zohran Mamdani Moustafa Bayoumi: Life was never the same
for New Yorkers after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001. But for Muslim New Yorkers there was an added burden: the suspicion and sometimes physical harm now lurking around every corner. Twenty-four years later, the situation in New York appears completely different. The country’s largest city is now poised to elect its first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist. Read the full article |
| PEARLS & IRRITATIONS Muted response to Trump's appropriation of Christianity John Schumann: It’s not all that much better in Australia.
Aren’t we entitled to be a little disappointed at the muted responses of our church leaders and religious commentators to Trump misrepresenting Christianity so blatantly? Direct, unified and ferocious denunciations on the scale of those seen in the US are much less common here at home. Read the full article |
| PEARLS & IRRITATIONS Was the gospel preached at Charlie Kirk's memorial service? Keith Mascord: In its quest for power and to impose a
Christian theocracy, Christian nationalists have made a Faustian deal. They have traded their integrity, silenced their consciences, and have failed the Matthew 25 challenge. When truth and love are sacrificed in a single-minded quest for power, nationalism becomes fascism, love becomes hate, democracy is destroyed and the Christian gospel is besmirched. Mercifully, this movement will fail. Read the full article |
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