Religion & Society

     In a dramatic turnaround, the LGBTI lobby in Australia is proving to be a significant source of support for faith-based schools, including Christian schools.      In 2010, the government of Australia’s southern state of Victoria rolled out the Safe Schools program. The purpose of Safe Schools, according to official government speak, was to develop a mechanism to limit bullying within Australian schools of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) students. This program included professional development activities for school teachers accompanied by materials and recommended activities for the training of students to eliminate discrimination against LGBTI students.      The Safe Schools program was the brainchild of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at Melbourne’s La Trobe University. Its best-known advocate is Dr Roz Ward, a former faculty member at the University, who has been reported as declari...

In Australia, supporters of same sex marriage (SSM) continue to celebrate the result of the postal survey taken during the months of September and October. Around 62% of Australian voters answered YES to the simple question: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” Press coverage of this result has generally taken the line that the Australian people have overwhelmingly supported SSM. Masking the details Of course, such macro statistics mask myriad details. To speak of “the Australian people” as a monolithic block on such a contentious topic is misleading. Almost 5,000,000 Australians voted against SSM. The country is clearly divided on the basis of voting statistics alone. However, this issue has revealed deep divisions of other kinds that have been under-reported in the media, itself largely pro-SSM during the campaign. One of the most interesting, and perhaps most concerning, aspects of division revealed by this vote relates to Australia’s multicultural...