The comments from right-wing Zionist organisations in response to claims by Bob Carr that they exercise undue political influence actually tell us a great deal about their lobbying work.
EPA/Abir Sultan
Former foreign minister Bob Carr’s recently released memoir, Diary of a Foreign Minister, discussed in-depth the influence of Melbourne branches of the so-called “Zionist lobby” over policymaking. Late…
The long-anticipated biblical epic, Noah, has been released to a tidal wave of reviews, comments and criticisms on the film’s “accuracy” in its adaptation of the flood narrative in Genesis. And granted…
Cardinal George Pell reportedly led Catholic Church lobbying of the government to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission.
AAP/Dean Lewins
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) was created by the former federal Labor government and began operation in December 2012. It is so new that some charities are yet to be required…
The promotion of religious freedom is ubiquitous, and there is great excitement in the air all round the world as governments rush to feature it prominently in their foreign affairs portfolios. The US…
John Blackwell, the new head of the British Veterinary Association, recently waded into the ritual slaughter debate by calling for kosher and halal meat preparation to be banned. With vets at European…
Whatever one makes of George Pell’s legacy, the Catholic Church in Australia must tackle challenges on several fronts without one of its dominant figures of recent times.
AAP/Paul Miller
With the recent appointment of Cardinal George Pell to Rome, the Catholic Church in Australia will lose a dominant figure. While there are criticisms, his influence and legacy are broad ranging. Pell’s…
Decisions made when the University of Sydney was founded in 1852 laid the historical foundation for a curious relationship between universities and religion in Australia.
AAP/Paul Miller
Australian universities have had a curious relationship with religion. The nation’s first university excluded clerical teachers of religion, which soon had the unintended consequence of marginalising religious…
A ban on halal and kosher slaughter without prior stunning of animals has come into effect in Denmark. A similar ban is already in force in Sweden and Norway, as well as other European nations. This decision…
Are government schools the place to proselytise?
Adrian Rotolo/Flickr
Some Victorian principals have taken the decision to axe religious instruction (RI) from their schools. Many believe this move is long-overdue and should be replicated nationwide. Over the past few years…
Origin of life, lesson one. Big bang, or God’s creation?
Shutterstock
Should discussion of religious beliefs be banned from the science classroom? Specifically, should evolution be taught without reference to religious beliefs? There are concerns that some faith-based academies…
UKIP has helped to put religion higher up the political agenda than usual in recent weeks – but not for reasons that will have pleased the party leadership. The now former UKIP councillor David Silvester’s…
What role does religion have to play in Australia’s schools?
AAP/April Fonti
Following education minister Christopher Pyne’s announcement last week of a review of the new Australian school curriculum, one of the reviewers, Kevin Donnelly, claimed in an interview that the national…
Christopher Pyne says students need to be taught ‘the significance of Judeo-Christian values’ to Australia, but where in the discourse did ‘Judeo-Christian’ come from?
AAP/Dave Hunt
Education minister Christopher Pyne has copped it from the Left with both barrels for demanding that the Australian education curriculum teach students “the significance of Judeo-Christian values to our…
While mourning the loss of Nelson Mandela, many are also celebrating the staggering achievement of those who struggled with to overthrow apartheid in South Africa. Lest we forget, apartheid means separation…
Gravestones at Rookwood range from the majestic to the tacky.
Crouchy69
Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery, the largest necropolis in the southern hemisphere, has had its share of troubles lately. A recent ABC investigation reported on a suite of alleged governance problems, including…
All sorts of claims about religious decline are flying around at the moment, from George Carey’s comment that the Church of England is “one generation away from extinction” to Richard Dawkins’ comments…
An unprecedented 22% of Australians have declared themselves to be of “no religion”.
Jetuma
Recently the Prime Minister called upon the Labor Party to “repent” of its introduction of the carbon tax. His comments were ridiculed by some critics, not for the substance of what he said, but for the…
Pope Francis’ liberal approach to theology is aimed at reforming the church’s attitude towards issues.
EPA/Alessandro Di Meo
Pope Francis has made headlines recently with comments about abortion, gay marriage, contraception, work and capitalism. Francis has said that he’s “not spoken much about these things [abortion, gay marriage…
Our attitudes towards religious institutions - in particular the Catholic Church - has changed as scandal and controversy afflicts the former bastion of faith.
AAP/Simon Mossman
As a young girl in the 1960s, I attended a Catholic boarding school. The nuns could be scary. When they walked the wintry and un-illuminated corridors of the convent, their knee-length rosary beads jangled…
Police officers search the scene following the attack which left serving soldier Drummer Lee Rigby dead.
PA/Gareth Fuller
It has been reported that Michael Adebolajo, one of the two suspects in the case of the Woolwich murder of a British soldier on Wednesday, is a Muslim convert. There are significant issues regarding the…
What do you see here: a tasty snack or a smiling face?
jillmotts
How much would you pay for a grilled cheese sandwich? $6? Maybe $7, if it was deliciously fresh and you were really hungry? In 2004, Diane Duyser from Florida, USA sold a ten-year-old grilled cheese sandwich…
While the focus has been on gender discrimination in Islam recently, there is much to be said about widespread discrimination across most organised religions.
AAP/Joe Castro
Yes, Tony Abbott is right. There is something unattractive about a university allowing public meetings at which attendees are segregated by sex. But hang on a moment: is this not the normal arrangement…
A university event where women and men were asked to sit separately raises more questions.
Islamic women image from www.shutterstock.com
The fallout from an event at the University of Melbourne where women and men were asked to sit separately has been intense. The media coverage so far has focused on the issue of segregated seating in a…
Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel before the start of the conclave in the Vatican to elect the next Pope.
EPA/Osservatore Romano
This morning, Australian Catholics awoke to the news that black smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. The seat remains vacant, there is no Pope. By now many of us will have learned through…
Our religious education system is out-dated and it needs to change.
Religious image from www.shutterstock.com
It might come as a surprise to most Australians that our religious education system is not only out-moded but is doing damage to students, families and teachers. Special Religious Instruction (SRI) is…