On Monday, the Australian Human Rights Commission launched its latest publication, Freedom of religion and Belief in 21st Century Australia.
The report, prepared for the Commission by the Australian Multicultural Foundation, offers no formal recommendations but provides a snapshot of attitudes on religion, and highlights a number of apparent challenges facing contemporary Australia in relation to cultural and religious diversity, such as distrust of Muslims, hostility toward homosexuals and pagans, tensions between religious and secular groups, and concern by churches about draconian human rights legislation.
In its conclusion, the report notes in passing the need for “discussion about the place of religious rights alongside other rights, allowing for the view to be heard that religious rights are absolute, and then to allow that view to be tempered by other views.”
On the other hand, report co-author Hass Dallal noted that the report “highlights the importance of faith to many Australians, and the central role faith plays in Australian society.”
Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 27 March 2011.
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