RSA Weekly Sunday 8 March 2026 Hi , There has been much reporting about the review into the Liberal Party’s 2025 election performance, with analysis often focusing on the party’s failure to appeal to women and young
people. But there seems to be little to no discussion about a demographic of particular interest to us – non-religious voters. The review shows that the Liberals have also lost non-religious Australians (see top article). You might have noticed an article going viral this week claiming US military commanders had told their troops the Iran war is part of God’s plan and a prelude to Armageddon
(see The Guardian’s version below). It sounds alarming, yes. But take it with a large grain of salt. There are many red flags about the claims being made (see the analytical pieces below). For members based in Victoria, our friends at Humanists Victoria are offering a special rate to its 'Summer Gathering' later this month. Check it out here. 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 Non-religious people “significantly less likely” to vote for the
Liberal Party, review finds5 Mar: Non-religious Australians were “significantly less likely” to vote for the Liberal Party at the 2025 federal election, according to analysis in the party’s internal review of its disastrous election campaign. The 60-page Review of the 2025 Federal Election document, tabled in the parliament on Tuesday, highlights “clear divides” in voting intentions based on religious affiliation. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Segal’s office hand-picked candidate to assess controversial university antisemitism report card 7 Mar: Australia’s antisemitism envoy
hand-picked Greg Craven to lead her controversial university report card process after receiving no response from five firms approached during an open tender process. Read the full
article |
| ABC
Hate speech laws passed through Queensland Parliament 5 Mar: The phrases "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada" have been outlawed in Queensland when used to
menace or offend someone, under legislation passed in state parliament on Thursday. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN ‘Massive underfunding’ blamed as students enrolled in Australian public schools falls to new low 5 Mar: The percentage of students enrolled in
public schools has fallen to another record low, as thousands of students fled the system in favour of the private sector, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday. Read the full article |
| ABC Australian Federal Police see growth in reports of forced marriage 5 Mar: James Cockayne, the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner, says the practice of
forced marriage remains “highly prevalent in a range of settings, both in certain cultural contexts and in high control religious groups of a range of faith backgrounds."Reports of forced marriage to the Australian Federal Police’s Centre to Counter Child Exploitation jumped almost 30 per cent last financial year. Read the full article |
| THE AGE $670,000 government pledge scrapped after Dandenong mosque marked ayatollah’s death4 Mar: The federal government has cancelled a $670,000 grant promised to a mosque in
Dandenong on the grounds of “social cohesion concerns” after it mourned the death of Ayatollah Khamenei. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges 4 Mar: US military commanders have been invoking
extremist Christian rhetoric about biblical “end times” to justify involvement in the Iran war to troops, according to complaints made to a watchdog group. Read the full article |
| ABC Billionaire James Packer's $150,000 donation to Advance a 'worrying' sign for Liberals 4 Mar: Billionaire James Packer's little-noticed donation to
conservative lobby group Advance has prompted concern about a shift of money from the Liberal Party in favour of conservative "ideological" groups. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN Iranian Australian community criticises mosques who mourned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death3 Mar: Iranian Australia community members have expressed distress after a
small number of mosques and Islamic centres in Melbourne and Sydney invited members to mourn the death of Iran’s supreme leader. Read the full article |
| CRUX Vatican official tells UN so-called ‘new rights’ can attack religious freedom3 Mar: Today’s persecution of Christians is one of the most prevalent crises in the world today, a
Vatican official has told the United Nations. More than 388 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, which equates to more than 14 per cent of all believers in Christianity, according to a charity. Read the full article |
| CNN Taliban allows men to beat their wives2 Mar: Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have issued a draconian decree that makes sodomy punishable by death and allows men to beat their
wives so long as they don’t break bones or leave visible, lasting wounds. Read the full article |
| THE WEST AUSTRALIAN Education leaders reject MP Julian Hill’s claim faith-based schools undermine social cohesion1 Mar: WA education leaders have strongly rejected a claim from the
Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill that religious education creates barriers to social cohesion. Read the full article |
| SKY NEWS (UK) Assisted dying bill will almost certainly fail due to a lack of time26 Feb: Legislation to permit assisted dying in England and Wales is set to fail because of a lack
of parliamentary time. The Labour chief whip in the Lords, Roy Kennedy, said this week that the government would not give the bill more time before the May deadline. Read the full article |
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dodged answering a direct question this week on when his government would deliver on its commitment to protect students and teachers from discrimination in religious schools – a promise repeatedly made by Labor when it was in opposition. What do you think? Email your comments to:
editor@rationalist.com.au |
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| RATIONALE Letters to the Editor: Government’s pandering to
religion ‘fills me with horror’ Tanjil Wright: In a world where science has managed to get us to the moon, drastically decrease infant mortality, and increase human longevity, the idea of pandering to beliefs that cannot be demonstrated to be true fills me with horror and disgust. “Respecting religion” has no place in a rational world. By all means, practise it. But special privileges? That’s a hard no. Read the full Letters column |
| THE GUARDIAN South Australian Liberal insiders fear for the party’s existence as polls point to an election catastrophe
Dan Jervis-Bardy: The decline is attributed to a
combination of distinctly local factors, ranging from leadership churn and scandal, internecine factional warfare, and Alex Antic and the religious-right’s takeover of the rank-and-file. Read the full article |
| THE AGE As One Nation rises, Muslim leader expresses faith in Victorian voters
Chip Le Grand: In an interview with this masthead, Sheikh Moustapha describes the rise of One
Nation, in part, as evidence of the need for his community to do more to improve understanding of Islam in Australia. Read the full article |
| THE SHOT Powerful right-wing regressive weirdos gather to plot at Atlas-linked conference in Australia
Lucy Hamilton: We have another warning now: these right-wing
operations frothing over a “threat” to “Western Civilisation” are platforming hate speech. At the very least, we must demand the government addresses Islamophobia with the same zeal dedicated to antisemitism. Wannabe aristos are setting us up to fight like dogs in a pit for their entertainment. We must not allow ourselves to comply. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN At Perth’s CPAC conference, Liberal party faithful speak of ‘the lost Australians’
Narelle Towie: The rightwing Conservative Political Action Conference made
its foray into Western Australia on Friday evening, with no sign of One Nation on a stage dominated by Liberal politicians. The event was a rallying call for conservatives to work together, but what emerged was a Liberal party attempt to rebuild the centre-right with itself at its core. Read the full article |
| THE OTHER CHEEK Social cohesion and religious schools: a proposal from federal minister Julian Hill
John Sandeman: Could States and Territories consider structural changes
in school systems to ensure all Australian children mix outside their ethnic and faith groups in sporting, social and other activities throughout their education? More community-based or community-engaged settlement responses to welcome new Australians may help them to integrate more quickly. Read the full article |
| CATHOLIC WEEKLY Restore faith to NSW public school enrolment
John Donnelly: Clear religious identity data gives schools meaningful insight into the backgrounds of their
students. It helps educators understand the cultural and spiritual diversity within their classrooms. When religion is not recorded, families struggle to exercise their choices, particularly regarding Special Religious Education. Read the full article |
| DEBRIEF Questions Mount Over Viral Claims of Apocalyptic Iran War Briefings in the Military
Ryan Whalen: While the claims have been breathlessly repeated online—and even by
some major outlets—key red flags have been ignored, as Americans hit “repost” on a story that feels all too plausible in the current news environment. The truth, however, is far less clear in this rabbit hole of uncertain. Read the full
article |
| SNOPES Investigating claim US troops were told Iran war is for 'Armageddon'
Laerke Christensen: Larsen and Mikey Weinstein, the MRFF founder, both said they had not
received any video or audio recordings of the reported Christian messaging by commanders. Therefore, we leave this claim unrated. Read the full article |
| ABC RADIO The state and the right to grieve death of Khamenei
As the regime in Iran fell, a handful of Shia Muslim communities in Australia went into mourning for the Ayatollah,
drawing criticism from New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. Is it the role of the state to decide who a religious community can mourn? Listen to the full episode |
| THE AGE I went to the US’s peak MAGA conference to gauge the state of movement. Here’s what I found
Michael Koziol: Unlike some conservative events, AmericaFest is not a
male-dominated environment… But a lot of time and energy is spent talking about young men: how they are suppressed and disenfranchised by the narrative of “toxic masculinity”, and what can be done to empower them in an era when they are supposedly disadvantaged. Read the full article |
| OXFORD UNIVERSITY Global study uncovers common three-stage sequence in religious decline
A new study finds that religious commitment typically declines in a strikingly similar way
across societies. After analysing data from over 100 countries, researchers identified a three-step sequence of religious decline, or secularisation. Read the full article |
| THE GUARDIAN AI agents could pose a risk to humanity. We must act to prevent that future
David Krueger: Despite repeatedly acknowledging this risk, AI CEOs keep racing to
make AI more and more powerful. We can’t afford to wait until AI systems are not only autonomous, but self-sufficient to stop this. It’s time for humanity to wake up and smell the looming crisis, and put an end to the unregulated development of increasingly powerful, autonomous, unconstrained AI. Read the full article |
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