Secularism Australia

Secularism Australia The separation of religion and state is the foundation of secularism.

Secularism seeks to protect the rights of religious believers and non-believers alike and to ensure that freedom of religion is always balanced by the right to be free from religion. Our society is rapidly changing, becoming more multicultural and diverse, and increasingly neither Christian nor religious. Secular reform is needed so that our laws, governments, and institutions better reflect moder

n Australia. In many spheres of public life, religious voices have disproportionate influence and privilege. The Secularism Australia Conference seeks to highlight the issues of where we are at, and where we want to be, through a balance of thought-leading presentations and practical examples demonstrating the need for change.

You can now watch the full recordings of speeches and panel sessions from the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference on ou...
01/06/2024

You can now watch the full recordings of speeches and panel sessions from the 2023 Secularism Australia Conference on our YouTube channel for free.

Find out what our guest speakers and panellists had to say on matters of separation of church and state, and the need for secular reform in a number of policy areas!

Find out more here: https://secularism.au/2024/06/01/watch-the-conference-on-our-youtube-channel/

19/04/2024

Speaking on a panel at our conference, Maurie Mulheron, the former president of NSW Teachers Federation, took aim at churches for embedding segregation in Australia's education system.

He said the public funding of private religious schools and the selective enrolment processes of these schools had resulted in high concentrations of disadvantaged children in disadvantaged schools.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

11/04/2024

During a panel session at our conference, NSW upper house member Abigail Boyd spoke about the opposition she has faced from religious colleagues in her push to remove daily Christian prayer rituals from parliament.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

03/04/2024

Former MP Fiona Patten told the Secularism Australia Conference that successful reforms in policy areas such as voluntary assisted dying and safe access zones around abortion clinics were proof of the diminishing power of conservative religious voices.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au.

18/03/2024

While Australia has not yet embraced our own version of the “Orange Jesus”, it could happen one day, warned public ethicist Dr Leslie Cannold at the Secularism Australia Conference.

She presented on the increasing polarisation of Western societies, the rise of authoritarianism, and the risks to democracies.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

14/03/2024

At our conference, Jack Galvin Waight, of the New South Wales Teachers Federation, presented about the mounting calls from the public education sector for the Special Religious Education ( ) program – or ‘scripture’ – to be moved outside class time.

He also highlighted a current petition open to New South Wales citizens on the state parliament’s website.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

09/03/2024

At the Secularism Australia Conference, Councillor Victor Franco spoke about his successful push to remove prayers from his local council’s meetings in Victoria.

He also shared his hope that another councillor could challenge the lawfulness of council prayer rituals in the courts.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

04/03/2024

Collin Acton, the Navy's former Director-General of Chaplaincy, used his speech to the Secularism Australia Conference to make the compelling case for secular reform of the Defence Force's chaplaincy capability.

He spoke about the growing health and wellbeing challenges in Defence, and the inability of the religious-based chaplaincy capability to meet the needs of service personnel.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

28/02/2024

In his speech to the Secularism Australia Conference, Senator David Shoebridge called for fair play In the aisles of supermarkets.

Currently, large commercial operations of religious charities – such as Sanitarium, owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church – enjoy tax and other exemptions over their secular competitors.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

23/02/2024

At the Secularism Australia Conference, Dr Anna Halafoff, of Deakin University, presented on the need for worldviews education to be embedded in Australian schools, instead of scripture programs such as Special Religious Education (SRE) in New South Wales.

She countered the claims of religious lobbyists about the benefits of scripture programs. She also argued that the teaching of diverse worldviews must be done by professional teachers and needed to be embedded in national and state/territory curricula.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

19/02/2024

Researcher Chrys Stevenson spoke at our conference on how wealthy international libertarian think-tanks are helping Christian dominionists in their efforts to take control of government and public institutions.

She revealed her research into the growing New Aspostolic Reformation movement in Australia, and its adherents' support for the Seven Mountains Mandate strategy.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

16/02/2024

At our recent conference, Alison Courtice of Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools spoke about the growing calls in Queensland for Religious Instruction (RI) classes to be moved out of normal learning time.

With the public, teacher and principal unions, and Labor politicians and members all demanding reform, Alison said the Labor government now had an opportunity to act on RI.

You can now access the videos of the conference presentations and panel discussions on our website: https://secularism.au

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