....It's just our policy.
Fri, 23. December 2011
There's No Reason For It....
Over recent decades, Australia has developed into a multi-cultural society with a theistic blind spot. Multi-culturalism and multi-belief go hand-in-hand - or they should - but whilst we have whole-heartedly embraced 'non-conforming cultures', we are hard-heartedly biased against 'non-conforming beliefs'.
"We must retain our christian heritage," they say. Well quite so, christianity cannot avoid it's history - it was so unforgettably cruel and intolerant - but we also need to face up to unprincipled public administrations which continues to favour one belief over all the rest.
Christianity likes to indoctrinate children before they can grow up and think for themslves. Christian leaders demand - and obtain - the sole right to government-sanctioned access to school-children (while they are still vulnerable). This is implemented through 'scripture' classes and chaplains. The continuation of this 'right' to brainwash children is based on history and religigious opportunism but not on any logical reason. ("There's no reason for it - it's just our policy," as one of my former work colleagues so often informed me).
A secular society ought to be teaching 'Comparitive Religion' in schools.
Christanity gets a free ride from the taxation department. It gets a free ride from the Australian Government's School Christian Chaplain Programme. It gets a free ride from State Government's who allow Christian scripture lessons. Churches are not required to register with the government like other community organisations are required to do and they are allowed to be responsible to no-one.
They also get a free ride from governments world wide who will not act to eliminate the horrific epidemic of paedophile priests that infests many denominations but is particularly chronic in the catholic church.
In a nutshell, religion can do what it likes, when it likes and is accountable to no-one. The government does not interfere. Now that's a free ride!
Christians are frightened of secularism but the word simply means the government not giving advantage to one particular religion over all others. It means fairness to ALL sections of society and not the continuation of an entrenched free ride for christianity and the unfair suppression of the rights of others, such as free will and the right not to be force-fed christianity (or any other similar weird belief).
Racism and most other forms of discrimination are rightly illegal now - but christianity still shamefully demands an improper right to discriminate unfairly against other sections of the community. Christianity is allowed to bully those who hold differing beliefs and brainwash the vulnerable - with government endorsement. It enters the political arena with regularity to overcome rational debate with dogma. Fairness and equality are virtues which elude the power-brokers within the christian hierarchy.
Australia will never be a true multi-cultural society until it becomes secular as well. Religion has nothing ro fear from secularism but it's opposition to it is unethical and they know it is.
Acknowlegements to nullifidian.net
This article was inspired by a myopic Catholic theologian's call to repress Secularism in 'The Conversation' and my response to it.