RSA Weekly Sunday 5 April 2026 Hi , Our work in highlighting what is being taught as 'science' in some faith-based schools across Australia is starting to pay off, with the Queensland regulator of non-state schools
confirming to us recently that it is looking into our complaints about two Christian schools (see top article). If you'd like to share your thoughts about articles in the RSA Weekly, email me via: sigladman@rationalist.com.au. Si Gladman Executive Director, Rationalist Society of Australia |
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| RSA Queensland regulator investigating complaints about the teaching
of religious stories in science classes5 Apr: Queensland’s regulator of non-state schools is investigating two Christian schools following a complaint by the Rationalist Society of Australia about the teaching of religious stories in science classes. In a letter, the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (NSSAB) has confirmed it is examining the concerns raised by the RSA in February. Read the full article |
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| RSA RSA supports call for NSW to remove block against non-religious
chaplains working in prisons2 Apr: Inmates who have non-religious worldviews face discriminatory treatment in New South Wales prisons because the state’s corrective system requires visiting chaplains to be from religious backgrounds. A member of a humanist organisation has been blocked from becoming a humanist chaplain in the prison system due to the requirement that they be from an endorsed organisation that “represents a religious
faith”. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN JD Vance announces a new memoir about his conversion to Catholicism2 Apr: US vice-president JD Vance has announced a new memoir centred on his conversion to Catholicism,
adding to mounting speculation about a potential 2028 presidential run. The book, titled Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, is described as “a spiritual exploration of what it means to be a Christian across the seasons of Vance’s life”. Read the full
article |
| CBC Quebec passes expanded secularism law targeting daycare workers, public prayer2 Apr: The Quebec government adopted legislation on Thursday that puts limits on praying in public
and extends a ban on wearing religious symbols to daycare workers. Bill 9, titled ‘An Act respecting the reinforcement of laicity in Quebec’, builds on two previous laws passed under Premier François Legault. Read the full article |
| HEALTH SERVICES DAILY Denton blasts federal barriers to assisted dying access1 Apr: End-of-life advocate and broadcaster Andrew Denton has accused the federal government of blocking
fair access to voluntary assisted dying, warning that outdated commonwealth laws and policies are forcing terminally ill Australians to travel for assessments and endure avoidable suffering. Read the full article |
| THE AGE Top Australian Jewish groups denounce Israel’s new death penalty 1 Apr: Australia’s peak Jewish groups have made a rare break with Israel to
condemn a controversial law approving the hanging of Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, arguing it represents a disturbing departure from Jewish tradition. Read the full article |
| ABC
Former royal commissioner casts doubt on antisemitism inquiry timeline 1 Apr: A former royal commissioner has warned that the inquiry into antisemitism set up in the wake of the
Bondi Beach terror attack does not have enough time to do its job properly. Ronald Sackville said it was unlikely the antisemitism inquiry could properly examine the experiences of Jewish Australians before its December deadline. Read the full
article |
| THE GUARDIAN Pope seems to rebuke Hegseth in remarks about leaders with ‘hands full of blood’ 30 Mar: Pope Leo has said God ignores the prayers of leaders
who wage war and have “hands full of blood”, in an apparent rebuke to the Trump administration. The pontiff made the comments on Sunday as thousands of US troops arrived in the Middle East and days after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for violence against enemies who deserved “no mercy”. Read the full article |
| YAHOO NEWS Liberal campaign order came from the top: ex-Brethren 27 Mar: Defectors of the secretive Plymouth Brethren Christian Church have spoken out
against a co-ordinated campaign to support the Liberals during the federal election, despite members being encouraged not to vote. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE How citizen scientists are making a
contribution
Adam Smith, et al.: In an era of misinformation and declining trust in institutions, citizen science offers people a chance to engage directly with evidence and the natural world. To date, little funding goes towards making the most of what citizen scientists can offer. Nationally, the government will spend A$15 billion on science this fiscal year. Of this, we estimate less than $10 million will go to citizen science. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE Habermas’ hope for a better future is more important
than ever
Susan Smith: Habermas, who died on 14 March at the age of 96, was among the greatest thinkers of our time. He was unshakeable in his conviction that people have minds of their own, can hope for a better future, and have the capability, collectively and democratically, to bring that future to life. Read the full article |
| THE AGE When Elise finally reported her abuser to Hillsong, she was threatened and told to ‘forgive’ him
Melissa Cunningham: Senior clergy at the Pentecostal megachurch,
where she was working at the time, warned her against going to the police and “bringing shame to God’s church”. The clergy also attempted to reframe the grooming and sexual abuse the mother-of-one had endured as an “affair”, and then put her in further danger when they told her perpetrator she had reported him. Read the full article |
| LAW SOCIETY JOURNAL The shrinking space for dissent in Australia
Henry Ea: At a recent UNSW seminar, a gathering of legal experts and activists issued a stark warning: the
right to protest — once hailed as an "essential ingredient of liberal democracy" — is being systematically rebranded as a threat to the state. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER Britain has changed. The relationship between religion and state must change, too.
Stephen Evans: Nearly two thirds of Britons say religion is not important
in their own lives. Religion is now more likely to be seen as a force for harm than for good. Yet few want religion banished from public life altogether. What they want is balance: a society in which people of all religions and none live together as equal citizens. Read the full article |
| THE CONVERSATION There may not be a Christian revival, but Britain’s traditional churches aren’t doomed
Linda Woodhead: There are good reasons to doubt that Britain is
experiencing a Christian revival today – but that does not mean it is dying out. To understand what is happening in Britain, it is helpful to compare it with the US, which has has long been viewed as exceptionally religious in comparison. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Pope Leo’s first Easter: one year in, what do Catholics think of the new pontiff?
Angela Giuffrida: In the months before being elected pontiff, when he was
cardinal Robert Prevost, Leo made no secret of his distaste for the Trump government’s policies, criticising its immigration and deportation plans on social media and sharing an op-ed published in the National Catholic Reporter titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Pete Hegseth is imbuing violence with a religious righteousness
Arwa Mahdawi: I am not religious, but you know what I’m praying for? For a world where
extremists like this are not influencing the government – or sitting in its highest ranks – but back in the fringes where they belong. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN As Team Trump wage unceasing war on Iran, evangelical nationalists are destroying any moral world order we once had
Simon Tisdall: Hegseth’s creed is killing.
He describes Iranians as “religious fanatics”. And he should know. His intolerant brand of evangelical Christian nationalism is extreme even by US standards. Exploitation of Christian belief for political and military ends is a long-established, shabby US practice. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) US supreme court’s ‘conversion therapy’ ruling opens ‘can of worms’. What’s next?
Sam Levin: The US supreme court ruled 8-1 this week against a Colorado
law banning “conversion therapy” for youth, in a case that could have major consequences for transgender and queer youth across the US, and for healthcare more broadly. Read the full article |
| THE FREETHINKER How the Catholic Church still avoids accountability for abuse in Italy
Richard Scorer: We tend to assume that western Europe is mostly enlightened,
democratic, and secular. But the Italian Constitution gives outsized power to religion, especially the Catholic Church. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Transhumanism
In the near future, artificial intelligence could do the thinking, and a robotic combination of human and machine do the lifting. But it’s a potentially
dystopic scenario – the poor, the weak, and those who simply believe in humanity as nature intended could be abandoned. These are just some of major ethical challenges posed by so-called transhumanism. Listen to the full episode |
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