This Easter, many of Australia’s church leaders abandoned their traditional Easter messages to issue dire warnings about the imminent onslaught of the heathen hoards. Last month’s Global Atheist Convention attracted 2,500 people and a torrent of publicity and it is clear that atheism is a dragon these holier-than-thou heroes are eager to slay.
Ironically, Australia’s atheist dragon was happily asleep in its cave until the persistent political posturing of religious institutions poked and prodded it into a fiery response. In effect, Australia’s clergy are oiling up their rusty armour and mounting their sway-backed nags to battle a monster of their own creation.
It seems that that while Cardinal Pell, Archbishop Jensen, Bishop Fisher, Reverend Moyes and theologian, Scott Stephens are ardent supporters of freedom of religion, they’re not so big on freedom from religion. For years now, Australian churches have been quietly insinuating their way into our political and educational institutions. The now (presumably defunct) Lyons Forum became an influential conservative Christian faction within the Howard Government. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Howard and Deputy PM Costello happily kowtowed to the prejudices of the religious right in return for the bloc votes of the mega-churches. The new Liberal Party leader, Tony Abbott has boasted publicly that the eight Catholics in the Howard cabinet were influential in stemming the tide of secular humanism through that Government’s decisions to overturn the Northern Territory’s euthanasia law, ban gay marriage, stop the ACT heroin trial and try to reduce abortion numbers through [Christian] pregnancy support counselling. For Abbott, the [Catholic driven] DLP is alive and well and living inside the Liberal/National Coalition.
The Christian agenda is transparent. The Australian Christian Lobby openly admits their mission is to ensure that Christian principles and ethics influence the way Australians are governed. Similarly, the National Alliance of Christian Leaders argue that Christian moral values and ideals must become the prevailing standard of the culture. The Family First Party, heavily weighted with Pentecostals, wields its influence in the Australian Senate and the Legislative Councils of New South Wales and South Australia. Even the Exclusive Brethren cult has privileged access to our parliamentarians through accredited lobbyists – thanks, in part, to the sponsorship of Reverend Moyes.
The insidious reach of the religious right seems even to have penetrated the Australian Labor Party – once the bastion of Australian secularism. Despite Rudd branding the Exclusive Brethren a dangerous cult, his government has ploughed millions of tax-payers dollars into funding schools which isolate the children of the cultists from the wider community. More millions have gone into expanding Howard’s ill-conceived school chaplaincy scheme which installs largely unqualified evangelists into a state school system
which is, supposedly, secular. While Prime Minister Rudd happily attended the Australian Christian Lobby’s conference in November, he failed even to respond to invitations to attend the Global Atheist Convention in March – does the ALP now represent only Christian Australians?
Economically, Australians buckle under high state, federal and local property taxes as they carry the burden for the billions of dollars not paid by churches. The Catholic Church, for example, earns more than $15 billion dollars a year in revenue from various profit-making ventures but pays not a skerrick of tax. It owns more than $100 billion worth of property but pays no rates. The ordinary punters, ‘working families’ as the Prime Minister is so fond of saying, pick up the slack. We are not just talking about exemptions for charities here – the Catholic Church has a vast financial empire including private schools, aged-care homes and hostels, hospitals, superannuation funds, insurance companies, a multi-storey carpark and a vineyard. Profits from these enterprises are not taxed and there is no requirement for the church to show how the profits are disbursed. Similarly, Hillsong Church rakes in over $40 million a year – untaxed. How much of that goes to actual charitable causes and how much goes towards proselytizing and Pastor Brian Houston’s property holdings on Bondi Beach? No-one knows.
Less than 7.5% of Australians attend Church on a regular basis (Zuckerman, 2005). Probably close to 50% or more have no real interest in religion beyond claiming a nominal affiliation with the church into which they were baptized on the quinquennial census form. And yet, we forego billions of tax dollars to support institutions which are intent on infiltrating our political and education systems and imposing their particular religious values on to the rest of us – whether we like it or not.
And what are these ‘Christian values’ religious lobbyists wish to promote? At least 80% of Australians believe the terminally ill should be free to choose a medically assisted death while the Catholic Church prides itself on having vetoed that right through its political influence. Jim Wallace from the Australian Christian Lobby would like to see women stripped of their reproductive rights by outlawing abortion. Tony Abbott argues that Jesus would have turned away boat people. Churches consistently seek exemptions from anti-discrimination laws, so that they may continue to discriminate against their fellow Australians on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation, religion or marital status. Polls consistently show that Australians are vehemently opposed to compulsory internet filtering while, under the influence of the Australian Christian Lobby, the Labor Party stubbornly persists with a policy which has earned international condemnation.
But it is we atheists who are now accused of being ‘morally bankrupt’. Yes, we godless infidels who argue for freedom of speech, freedom from religion as well as freedom of religion, equality – regardless of gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation (or lack thereof), the right of children to grow up without religious indoctrination and the right of women and the terminally ill to have dominion over their own bodies – we are accused of having no values.
Little wonder that 2,500 people attended the recent Global Atheist Convention and that membership in Australia’s many atheist organizations is booming. Little wonder that atheists, once content to sleep in quietly on Sundays, have been prodded into action and are now standing up and shouting, “No more!” Little wonder that atheists and secularists are uniting and mobilizing politically in order to fight back against the incipient influence of an unrepresentative conservative religious minority.
We have seen the long-term damage caused to America’s political, legal and education systems by a politicized religious right: a supreme court stacked with conservative Christian judges; an evangelical President who defied the UN to take his (and our) nation to war based on his conviction that ‘Gog and Magog’ were at work in the Middle East; court cases over the teaching of creationism in public schools; and a population increasingly riven by sectarian differences. Is that what we want for Australia?
Australia’s religious institutions have pushed their luck too far. They have taken advantage of Australians’ political apathy to push their agendas and their values on to a largely secular public while relying on us to fund the assault on our freedoms through billions of dollars in tax exemptions! They have poked and prodded and intruded upon our supposedly secular government and education systems, assuming that the apathetic atheist dragon would merely raise one sleepy eyelid and return to its rest.
They were wrong. They have pushed us too far. Secular and non-religious Australians are beginning to speak out and fight back and, for that, we are accused of being ‘morally bankrupt’, communistic, and akin to Nazis. These outrageous insults are the last refuge of those who can see their empires crumbling around them. Australian atheism and secularism is growing apace because the churches have overstepped the mark. Public opinion is rising against the churches. The dragon they have awoken will not be defeated by the ineffectual huffing and puffing of the clergy. A fire has been started, and it is spreading fast. The dragon is awake and the churches have only themselves to blame.
Chrys Stevenson
Reference:
Zuckerman, Phil (2005), Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns, Cambridge University Press
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Religious bs is right, don’t want none of that stuff. As a Christian I can understand some of you here are downright disgusted with events that associate themselves with God. Just want you to know that it was the prominent religious leaders of the day who were responsible for Christ’s crucifixion. Religion is nasty stuff. That’s why Christ separated himself from it. Can’t find out the truth without going to the Source. There is a God my friends.
Very excellent articles,congrats!! Hopefully the US will follow you to straighten out this religious BS that’s been going on for years. I stll wonder just ‘WHO” wrote the bible??? Keep up the good work. Lots of drongos here in the US just like your country,Best,Fred
Thanks John – what you suggest is being organized at the moment.
Just prior to the Convention, Chrys Stevenson, Sean Wright (Sean the Blogonaut) and Warren Bonett (Mr Embiggen) convened a meeting of local atheist group representatives at the Waterside Hotel, Melbourne. More than 20 people, representing most of the country’s atheist meetup groups, plus some other groups, attended. Those present listened to our idea for a national network of local groups and, after some discussion, voted enthusiastically and unanimously to proceed with forming an alliance.
We are now working with representatives from all of the country’s atheist meetup groups (and others) to establish a mission statement, structure, affiliate plan and to agree on a name for the new organization. In effect, we have shown that cats can be herded and that disparate groups can work together in common cause – something we were told was impossible.
The aim of the new group is to be project based and goal oriented. It is to be an action group, aimed at allowing any of the individual groups to put forward a suggestion for local, state or national action and invite the other groups to get involved. This will allow local groups to keep their independence while still having the advantage of national affiliation and support. We want to grow the memberships of local groups, invite their members to be more active, and to seed new groups throughout the country.
While it has not yet been decided, it may well be that this will not just be an alliance for atheists, but for freethought groups in general – which would make it, as you suggest, a secular alliance.
This is an exciting new step for Australian atheism and one which we hope will complement and strengthen all of our existing organizations – including the Sunshine Coast Atheists.
Keep an eye out here for more exciting news on this development or contact me at sunshinecoastatheists@gmail.com for updates.
Excellent article, but now I’m as mad as hell. We really must organize a political lobby group/ party to push the secular agenda in Australia
Thank you for a very well written article. What amazes me about the Christians as a group is they seem to think they are something special. Well, here is a link which suggests that Atheists supply less than 1% of the prison population: http://www.skepticfiles.org/american/prison.htm
Another one, an oldie but a goodie, goes back to 1997,
http://holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm
Now, I may be a Godless Heathen, but better that than being sanctimonious, elitist, and a downright liar.
Great article. This is one of the reasons why I am supporting Fiona Patten and the Australian Sex Party.
Fantastic post, I am so glad that those of the other side of the ditch are standing up. New Zealand and Australian people should communicate more on these issues.
Excellent article. I have just featured it on the wall for the Australian Secular Lobby on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&viewas=784713369&gid=171506088479
Loved it all, bar one teensy bit.
“The Christian Agenda” (Emphasis added)
Christians, even just in their theologically motivated (i.e. non-secular) views, have been divided on some of the mentioned issues – especially heroin injecting rooms.
It (safe heroin injecting rooms) has caused quite a schism in the Salvation Army, with a lot of quarrelling. It’s only in-house politics, rather than religious ideology, that has stopped the pro-safe-injection side from deciding the Salvos position on the matter.
I’ll stop being a pedant now. 😀
Again, nice post. We didn’t start the fire.
I find it absurd that we are now being accused of culture wars. Since when in the last 1800 years has the greater Christendom not engaged in culture war against the godless?
The ubiquitous ‘culture war’ accusation against ‘new atheists’, even if true (and it is – but it’s not really an accusation to be offended by – sure I’m fighting a culture war!), and variations on the argument, demonstrates just how much greater Christendom takes its own privileged status for granted.
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Awesome article. I think this sums up the whole situation nicely.
That was a very informative and intelligent article.
At some point (hopefully soon), atheists will need to form some kind of co-ordinated political movement, or lobbying group, as the religious do. If the politicians are aware of the power of atheists as keenly as they are aware of the influence of religious groups then they will sit up and take notice.
Also, a third credible alternative to the ALP and LNP would be most welcome 🙂
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Great article Chrys, well researched and beautifully put.
Tweeted out to my crew: http://twitter.com/sarah_j_smith
Keenly await news on the national organization.
Great question Dean. If you haven’t done so already, join a local atheist meetup group or think about starting one of your own. We are currently working on forming a national atheist alliance and part of that plan will be to have a database of people like you who want to contribute. In the meantime, keep abreast of what’s happening – the Aussie, Kiwi and South Pacific Atheists Group on Atheist Nexus is just one way to do that – http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/aussiekiwisouthpacificatheists.
Write letters to the editor. Write to your political representatives. Add your comments to online newspaper articles. And consider your vote carefully in the next election.
Keep in touch. Friend me on Facebook. As soon as the new alliance is up and running I’ll be making an announcement.
All I really want to know is what can I do to help stand against this continued attack from the Religious Right in Australia?
The shrill protests of theologians have an air of panic about them.
It is as if they perceive someone may draw the curtain and reveal the lies and propaganda they have been allowed to get away with for centuries.
The very respectability of the church is foundering under the weight of continued revelations of assaults and misdeeds.
Small wonder they are looking for distractions to blame for the ills of the world rather than address their own problems.
Perhaps they should read and heed their own holy book
Matthew, 7;5 “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Thank you for such an excellent post.
Ever since our government gleefully gave over $150 million so the Catholic church could run a recruitment drive “World Youth Day”, started censoring the Internet solely because the Christians didn’t want people to look at porn, started banning video games that had too many red pixels shown ; I have known there is something very deeply wrong with this country’s political institutions.
It seems even when we don’t vote for the conservative right, we seem to get them no matter what – do we even have a truly ‘left/liberal’ political party anymore – or just two big right/conservative ones?
What a wonderfully cogent expression of why I am now so active in pushing the atheist agenda rather than simply watching the religious folk waste their time on Saturdays. Well spoken!
I have been pushed too far.
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