Religious discrimination bill

[RoarEmotion]

I wonder what portion of the community support these laws?

I’m an atheist and normally doesn’t give a stuff whether people believe in the Easter bunny, Zeus, Father Christmas or any other version of a god. I’m no LGBTQ activist either but for some reason this bill gets my goat.

Steph Lentz was sacked this year for being gay. It was perfectly legal

LGBTQ people who work at religious schools can be sacked for who they are, and they fear the federal religious discrimination bill could make things worse.

www.smh.com.au

It seems that those in power do not represent the community as a whole and can pass laws that put religious views into law and have lots of taxpayer dollars directed towards religious institutions.

I was watching ‘For All Mankind’ with my son and it was exploring in a fictitious 1974 how a lesbian and a homosexual in the space program chose to marry so as to not bring disrepute to the organisation and be able to keep their jobs. I was talking to my son how in many countries it was illegal to perform homosexual acts. He asked me where and I said I didn’t really know but thought it would be mainly in the Middle East and driven by the Muslim religion.

Google found this https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/?type_filter=crim_lgbt and when you read the penalties - death by stoning, life imprisonment, 10 years imprisonment etc etc it’s a pretty sobering map.

How do others feel about this law?

What actions would you take if you oppose? Would any be successful ?

Seems to me a complete change out of 55 year old white men in leadership positions would need to occur to change the political landscape and an active drive to get rid of religious SI in political circles.

 

[Baloo]

He asked me where and I said I didn’t really know but thought it would be mainly in the Middle East and driven by the Muslim religion.

Singapore, and not for religious reasons.

As for religious organisations defending their right to only employ those who align with their beliefs, I think there is a very simple solution in Australia.

If a religion chooses to discriminate on the grounds of not being inline with the religion's beliefs, the government should
a) stop any/all grants that religion gets
b) remove that religion's tax exemption status

With those two laws in place institutional intolerance would vanish.

 

[RoarEmotion]

Singapore, and not for religious reasons.

As for religious organisations defending their right to only employ those who align with their beliefs, I think there is a very simple solution in Australia.

If a religion chooses to discriminate on the grounds of not being inline with the religion's beliefs, the government should
a) stop any/all grants that religion gets
b) remove that religion's tax exemption status

With those two laws in place institutional intolerance would vanish.

My view is religious organisations should receive zero funding and tax exemptions in the first place. I despise that any of the tax I pay funds religion. Redirect it to social organisations - promote community, critical thinking, supporting children in broken households etc.

 

[Baloo]

Redirect it to social organisations - promote community, critical thinking, supporting children in broken households etc.

That's what religious organisations claim to do. Salvo's - Religious org but no doubt worthy of funding.

 

[AngryAnt]

As Frank Zappa always said - "Tax the churches"

 

[RoarEmotion]

That's what religious organisations claim to do. Salvo's - Religious org but no doubt worthy of funding.

There is probably a halfway house. Would be difficult to draw a line though and it sure there are good outcomes out there too.

Can a non religious body receive funding from the same pot? - as long as there is competition for these funds irrespective of religious affiliation and on a social help criteria then that would seem reasonable / along with transparency to the public on how the funds are spent.

 

[tigerman]

The religious right are infiltrating federal and state seats all round Australia, a lot of them Pentecostals.

There's plenty more Scott Morrison's waiting in the wings.

 

[DavidSSS]

I see no reason why religions should be treated differently to any other organisations. If they are a non-profit then they would not pay tax anyway, can't see why they get tax exempt status at all.

Why they should have some sort of exemption from equal opportunity laws is beyond me.

Sounds like a good reason to answer "no religion" in the census tonight (apart from just answering the question honestly).

DS

 

[larabee]

Parents ask Brisbane Christian school to sign contract confirming their children won’t be sexually abused — The Shovel

"This school is clearly obsessed with sex"

www.theshovel.com.au

 

[DavidSSS]

If that school wants to shove these sorts of beliefs down their students' throats I see no reason why they should get any funding from taxpayers.

DS

 

[TigerMasochist]

If that school wants to shove these sorts of beliefs down their students' throats I see no reason why they should get any funding from taxpayers.

DS

Christian schools and Muslim schools anchor their beliefs and rules according to their interpretation of their holy rule book. If you wish to attend, or send your kids along, then follow their rules. If you don't then send your kids somewhere with different rules.
I'd be more than happy if none of them got any of my money, but unfortunately the system's been in place for a hell of a long time n nothing will change until long after I've carked it.

 

[RoarEmotion]

I went to a school that did RE. Luckily we got to watch ‘The Life of Brian’ and ‘See No Evil Hear no Evil’ in it. Best class I did.

 

[tigersnake]

The religious right are infiltrating federal and state seats all round Australia, a lot of them Pentecostals.

There's plenty more Scott Morrison's waiting in the wings.

Its a worry. Bible bashers in powerful positions far above the proportion in the population. The Brisbane City Council, which has a bigger budget than Tassie, is infested. The mayor went to this school and sends his kids there.

 

[RoarEmotion]

Its a worry. Bible bashers in powerful positions far above the proportion in the population. The Brisbane City Council, which has a bigger budget than Tassie, is infested. The mayor went to this school and sends his kids there.

Would no public money for religious insitutitions / normal law supersedes ‘religious rules’ platform be a political winning strategy in Australia?

How long until the leader assassinated?

No idea how many people care about this stuff.

 

[spook]

I'm all for discriminating against religions.

 

[shad]

That's what religious organisations claim to do. Salvo's - Religious org but no doubt worthy of funding.

I think that's a poor example. They were perpetrators of terrible abuse in the recent past.

 

[toothless]

Parents ask Brisbane Christian school to sign contract confirming their children won’t be sexually abused — The Shovel

"This school is clearly obsessed with sex"

www.theshovel.com.au

The site is satirical.

 

[Baloo]

I think that's a poor example. They were perpetrators of terrible abuse in the recent past.

Possibly, I'm not really aware of them. But my point was that there are genuine Religious organisations who do perform a very important role in helping and supporting those in need.

 

[larabee]

The site is satirical.

It certainly is

 

[RoarEmotion]

It is interesting that now are starting to see the seeds of the reverse happening. Actively espousing hatred against homosexuals seems to be leading to some loss of acceptance in broader society and a reduction of opportunities happening per the Essendon CEO for a day event. Hiding hatred and abuse under belief is being exposed for what it is.

As a hypothetical exercise if a church 'believed' that pedophilia was good and supported by their god and any priest of that persuasion should be allowed to do what they want with kids of that persuasion they would end up in jail. Society would cast them out and end the organization (wouldn't they???)

It's not a far slope from this to churches being allowed to actively discriminate against homosexuals if that conflicts with their faith. It would seem that is illegal but religions want to get that protected via 'religious freedom'. Discrimination causes mental harm for sure. Not as visible as sexually abusing someone but can cause damage.

About Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status Discrimination | Australian Human Rights Commission

From 1 August 2013 it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status under federal law. Same-sex couples are now also protected from discrimination under the definition of ‘marital or relationship status’.

humanrights.gov.au

With Australia being one of the least religious countries in the world, it will be interesting how this evolves as non-religion maybe even moves to a majority of the population, and to what lengths the incumbents act to preserve their power.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/least-religious-countries (I guess in north korea you need to believe in the boss)

$30 billion a year supports religion. Would be good to see a party running on exempting this tax break. That money could do a lot more good elsewhere IMO. No wonder religion puts people in positions of power in government.

Religion Costs Australia $31 billion in Taxation Expenditures

The following is a letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald penned by Max Wallace which was not printed. DOGS note that the $31 billion per year in taxation expenditures foregone because of ‘religious’ exemptions would provide Australia with public education and health systems second to...

www.adogs.info