RSA Weekly Sunday 1 March 2026 Hi , We received a number of responses from our members and supporters last week, alarmed by our report that the federal government was considering establishing a national 'faith affairs'
advisory body like the one in place in New South Wales. This week, we followed up with a letter to the Attorney-General, Michelle Rowland, warning the government against the idea (see the 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 RSA urges Albanese govt against further privileging religion
through a faith advisory body1 Mar: The Rationalist Society of Australia has urged the Albanese government against further privileging the voices of religious communities through the establishment of a national faith advisory body, this week raising discrimination and constitutional concerns about the idea with the nation’s first law-officer. In a letter to Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, the RSA argued that the establishment of an
advisory body based on New South Wales’ controversial Faith Affairs Council would entrench religious favouritism and discrimination against non-religious people, and undermine social cohesion. Read the full
article |
| THE GUARDIAN Colander-wearing Pastafarian strains the rules with Queensland driver’s licence photo 28 Feb: A “Pastafarian” in rural Queensland has vowed to
fight to keep his driver’s licence featuring a photo of him wearing a colander on his head, arguing it’s a matter of freedom of religion. But the state government has told him he must hand it in and get a new one, as it was issued “in error”. Read the full article |
| WA TODAY
Perth Mosque vandalised day after alleged ‘mass casualty’ terror attack foiled 28 Feb: WA Police were on Saturday canvassing for CCTV footage that may help lead them to the
person responsible for vandalising a Perth mosque, a day after a planned “mass casualty” terror attack targeting public buildings and Muslim places of worship was foiled. Read the full
article |
| CANBERRA TIMES (VIA CATHNEWS) ACT’s assisted dying scheme sees 14 people die in three months 27 Feb: Fourteen people have died by voluntary assisted dying
in the first three months of the ACT scheme. Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith updated the ACT Legislative Assembly on the scheme yesterday, which came into effect on November 3, 2025. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) Bible-infused public school curriculum in Texas to undergo corrections for thousands of errors 27 Feb: A Bible-infused curriculum that
Texas approved for public schools over pushback in 2024 will undergo corrections to fix hundreds of errors caught by teachers and education officials after the material was introduced to classrooms. Read the full article |
| ABC Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses and Revival Centre among alleged high-control charity groups 27 Feb: An ABC analysis of submissions to the Victorian
Parliament’s inquiry into cults and fringe groups reveals that several of the religious groups accused of coercive control and abusive practices have charity status. Among the most prevalent groups in the submissions – and which enjoy significant tax advantages as charities – are Jehovah's Witnesses, Shincheonji Church, The Revival Centre International, The Geelong Revival Centre, The Church of Scientology, and City Builders Church. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Increase in religious schools and home schooling could prevent ‘deeper social cohesion’, Julian Hill says 25 Feb: A rise in faith-based
education and home schooling risks Australian children growing up without any meaningful exposure to peers outside their cultural and ethnic groups, a Labor frontbencher says. Julian Hill, the assistant minister for citizenship, customs and multicultural affairs, says recent educational trends are seeing some children reach adulthood without mixing with people from different cultures and religions. Read the full article |
| ABC Police will not charge Canberra bar owner after seizing posters under new Commonwealth hate laws 25 Feb: Posters seized by police at a Canberra venue
last week under recently introduced Commonwealth hate laws will be returned without criminal proceedings. Police said the images, which depicted Donald Trump, J.D Vance, Elon Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin dressed in Nazi-like uniforms, "satisfied certain aspects of the legislation" but did not meet other aspects. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO Australia is one of the most religiously diverse countries globally 25 Feb: New research by the Pew Centre shows we’re one of the most
religiously diverse countries in the world. There’s no longer a majority religion, meaning many faiths have found a place. Listen to the full episode |
| ABC WA Parliament to debate institutional child sex abuse laws in wake of 'retrograde' High Court decision24 Feb: Efforts to close a legal loophole which allows some organisations to
escape paying compensation for institutional child sexual abuse have been delayed after upper house MPs could not agree on how far the law should reach. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Pauline Hanson’s Muslim comments have been reported to federal police – but could she face charges?24 Feb: The AFP did not say whether they had begun a criminal
investigation, only that they would have more to say “at an appropriate time”. But what charges could Hanson face? Prof Luke McNamara, a law professor at the University of New South Wales, said while people may have made reports to police, matching the remarks to a criminal offence was complex. Read the full article |
| ABC Arab and Muslim nations condemn Mike Huckabee's suggestion Israel could claim biblical right to territory23 Feb: Arab and Muslim nations have expressed "strong condemnation and
profound concern" over comments from the United States ambassador to Israel, suggesting Israel could claim a biblical right to territory far beyond its borders in the Middle East. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, was being interviewed by right-wing American commentator Tucker Carlson. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN (US) Louisiana schools can display Ten Commandments, appeals court rules22 Feb: A federal appeals court cleared the way on Friday for a controversial Louisiana law
requiring poster-sized displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom, allowing the state to enforce a law that was previously found to be unconstitutional. Read the full article |
In early February, the Victorian Parliament published a video providing an update about the inquiry into cults and fringe groups. What do you think? Email your comments to: editor@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Living with ‘AI anxiety’ Grant Blashki: A patient said to me the other day, half-smiling but clearly unsettled: “I think I’ve got anxiety about AI.” They weren’t having a panic attack or describing clinical anxiety. What they were expressing was a persistent sense of unease that many of us are feeling right now. A sense that the world is changing very quickly, that the systems we live within are being redesigned around us and that most of us don’t feel
particularly consulted or prepared for a life increasingly immersed in artificial intelligence. Read the full article |
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| RATIONALE How climate scientists balance the tension between
research and public protest Samuel Finnerty: From marches and demonstrations to civil disobedience, scientists are increasingly turning to climate protest. As a social psychologist, I’ve been investigating why researchers – who are trained to value scientific norms of objectivity and restraint – choose to engage in such public and sometimes disruptive action. My study, just published in the journal PLOS
Climate addresses this question by exploring scientists’ own experiences and decision-making. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN There can be no social cohesion while divisive groups like Advance aim to smear hate against some Australians
Lucy Hamilton: There can be no social cohesion
while messaging operations like Advance choose to beat up hysteria about certain groups of Australians. Social cohesion demands that we protect our community when divisive actors aim to smear hate among us. Read the full
article |
| ABC RADIO High Court rules the Catholic Church is liable for a priest's abuse
A NSW man who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a priest in the late 1960’s when he was 13, has
won his High Court battle over liability, but had his compensation nearly halved. His lawyers argued the church had a responsibility for the actions of the priest and the High Court agreed. So what could this mean for other compensation cases? Listen to the full episode |
| AL JAZEERA What is Christian Zionism, the pro-Israel ideology invoked by US ambassador
Urooba Jamal: Four themes can be found in Christian Zionist thought: One, the
founding of today’s nation-state of Israel in 1948 marked the final human era and signals an end of times. Two, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a part of God’s plan with a great and final war preceding the second coming of Christ. Three, God’s covenant with Israel is eternal and unconditional. And four, failing to support Israel’s political dominance today will incur divine judgement. Read the full article |
| PEOPLE FOR MAGA Evangelicals Expect The Israel/Iran Conflict To Bring About The End Times
Kyle Mantyla: Religious-right activists have been nearly unanimous in their demand
that the Trump administration lend its full support to Israel in the growing conflict. The reason for this is that Trump's evangelical base believes that the Bible commands them to support Israel in order to bring about the return of Jesus Christ and the End Times. Read the full article |
| AXIOS Where Christian nationalism is most dominant in the US
Russell Contreras: About one-third of Americans qualify as Christian nationalism "adherents" or "sympathizers,"
a new survey released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute finds. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO How does Christianity shape politics, power, and democracy in the Pacific?
In this episode of ABC Radio Australia's Politok show Scott Waide investigates the growing
influence of the church on government in Samoa and Fiji, from proposals to ban non-Christian faiths to the quiet ways religion shapes leadership, law, and national identity. Listen to the full episode |
| POLITICS Reform’s crusade for ‘Christian values’ offers false comfort
Andrew Copson: The announcement by Reform UK that they will “restore Britain’s Christian heritage” and
that the nation must “uphold its Christian values” captures the contradictory essence of modern populist politics. Politicians of various faiths and none scrambling to weaponise a religious identity that the British public themselves have left behind and show no sign of wanting back. Read the full article |
| HUMANISTS UK Dismay at US-style Christian Nationalism coming to UK politics
Humanists UK expressed its dismay that US-style Christian Nationalism continues to increase its profile
in UK politics. Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said: “Most of us in Britain aren’t Christian in our beliefs, practices, or identity… The only basis for national identity in our country is around the shared values and institutions of our plural society. Christian Nationalism is a divisive dead end.” Read the full article |
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