The marriage equality debate brought the rights of LGBT Australians to the fore - now we need to turn our attention to the ways they are still discriminated against.
A federal Religious Discrimination Act would introduce important protections for Australia’s religiously diverse population.
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Australians already enjoy a relatively high level of religious freedom. However, discrimination and vilification on the basis of people’s faith still exists.
As gay Cubans gain more rights, opposition is also growing.
AP Photo/Desmond Boylan
Cuba is avowedly secular. But as the country debates a new Constitution that would protect LGBT rights, churches have come out strongly against gay marriage — a sign of change on the Communist island.
We don’t know what former Howard government minister Philip Ruddock and his panel have found and recommended about legislation to protect religious freedom.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
The government won’t be putting out the report before the July 28 byelections, and that tells us something. There are concerns about how this issue will run in the public domain.
Virginia Edwards and Christine Foster were among the first same-sex couples to be married in Australia.
AAP/Joel Carrett
Six months after same-sex marriage became legal in Australia, none of the disasters the “no” side warned about have come to fruition, but there is still some way to go to achieve real equality.
As the Ruddock review of religious freedom is about to report, we need a more sophisticated understanding of what religion is and the ways its expression can be curtailed - or can curtail others.
Progressive values won in Costa Rica – for now, at least.
AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco
Nearly 40 percent of voters in Costa Rica supported an anti-gay evangelical for president. Maybe progressive Costa Rica is more like its troubled neighboring countries than it once seemed.
The ‘gay wedding cake’ dilemma has become the go-to hypothetical when examining how religious freedom and LBGTI rights can co-exist.
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The government’s review of religious freedom protections must ensure that any additional protection of religious freedom does not further undermine the right to non-discrimination.
Marchers at the 1978 Mardi Gras parade.
Sally Colechin/The Pride History Group
On the Sydney Mardi Gras march of 1978
The Conversation, CC BY31,7 MB(download)
On a cold Saturday night in Sydney on June 24, 1978, a number of gay men, lesbians and transgender people marched into the pages of Australian social history. I was one of them.
American skiier Gus Kenworthy is one of many openly gay athletes competing in Pyeongchang.
Head & Shoulders
Conservatives are often critical of ‘identity politics’ for silencing dissenting views. But on ABC’s Q&A on Monday night Malcolm Turnbull presented a very narrow vision of national identity.
The drawn-out process of Australia legalising marriage equality has finally come to a close, with a bill passing the lower house by an overwhelming majority on Thursday.
LGBTQi+-inclusive sexuality education reduces negative stereotypes and biases, creating a safer school environment for LGBTQi+ students.
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Leaving young people to figure sexuality and sex out themselves could result in ill-informed decision-making, and withholds knowledge that is their right to have.
MPs clapped and hugged each other after the private member’s bill went through.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The first same-sex weddings will be celebrated early in the new year after the historic change to the marriage law passed the House of Representatives with only four MPs voting against.
The fight for LGBTI people to live lives free from discrimination will continue.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
Same-sex marriage has passed the Senate to much fanfare and celebration. But will its passage change the way we think about human rights and democracy in Australia?
Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity