Weekend Wrap for 26 November 2023

Elli Jacobs: Laura’s parenting style is ‘hands-off’ due to her strict, religious upbringing
"Being raised under strict religious doctrine can have knock-on effects that impact all parts of life, particularly parenting, says Dr Cathy Kezelman, president of Blue Knot Foundation, an organisation that provides information and support to those suffering complex trauma. 'When you’ve been raised within a controlled environment with very little freedom to make your own choices or realise that you can make choices,' she says, 'it’s very difficult to develop the strong core sense of self necessary to provide your children with a secure base from which they can explore the world.'" (19 Nov 2023)
Read more at The Age

Mark Beeson: Losing my religion
"One of the problems with large bodies of religious literature and doctrine is that it is possible to find a rationale for just about anything, including despatching those who subscribe to a different theological epistemology. Selectively invoking convenient passages out of context to justify religious persecution and bigotry is a tradition as old as organised religion itself, and one that is clearly not going out of fashion; like religion itself, for that matter. While people may derive many benefits from belonging to a religious community, inclusivity and the acceptance of others is not necessarily one of them. Say what you like about agnostics, but what you don’t know not only can’t hurt you, but it doesn’t provide a basis for disliking, much less persecuting others either." (19 Nov 2023)
Read more at Pearls & Irritations

ABC: Believing in Australia
This new four episode docuseries from the ABC explores how the great shifts in Australians' faiths, ethics and beliefs have transformed the continent and its people. (21 Nov 2023)
Watch series on ABC iView

Brian Greig: Keep the pressure on LGBTIQA+ law reform
"If our community keeps up the pressure on the Cook Government it will stumble ahead with some LGBTIQA+ reforms this term despite their claim to the contrary. However, be alert to the traps. Here’s the top 10 issues we need to look out for as we push Labor to keep its promises." (21 Nov 2023)
Read more at Out in Perth

Si Gladman: Say your prayers
"Last year, when the newly appointed President of the Senate, Sue Lines, publicly expressed her support for removing the daily recital of Christian prayers from the Senate’s procedures and her job description, her Labor colleagues swiftly pulled her back into line. Now, whenever the Senate opens for the day, we can all watch on – see the livestream here on the Australian Parliament House website – as an atheist is forced to recite two Christian prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, for the Senators and staff in attendance before everyone can get on with their jobs." (21 Nov 2023)
Read more at Rationale Magazine

Rach Cosker-Rowland: Requiring trans people to use bathrooms for the gender they were assigned at birth violates their rights and does no good
"This year several US states, including Florida and Kansas, have introduced bills requiring all trans people to use public bathrooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth. All trans men, for instance, who live in, or pass through, Florida and Kansas must now use the women’s bathrooms, even if they have lived as a man for decades, are legally men, are thought to be men by everyone who sees them, have large beards, and have had sex reassignment surgery. ... These bathroom bills do demonstrable harm to trans people, do not avert any harm, and breach trans people’s rights. ... Many trans people are physically or sexually assaulted if they are forced to use bathrooms that clash with their gender presentation." (23 Nov 2023)
Read more at ABC Religion & Ethics

Brett Henebery: Who gets what when it comes to school funding in Australia?
"Australia’s public schools could be shortchanged more than $39bn over six years unless governments act to fix funding disparities, a new report has warned. The research, conducted by prominent economist Adam Rorris finds that unless the Commonwealth and State Governments act to ensure that new funding agreements fix funding shortfalls, over the period 2023-28 public schools will be denied over $6bn a year, totalling nearly $39bn over six years, whilst private schools will remain overfunded by nearly $3bn." (23 Nov 2023)
Read more at The Educator

Meg Wallace: Secular morality versus religious morality
"...both federal and state governments require the recitation of prayers in government proceedings, promote religious doctrine in political debate, and grant financial assistance for church activities such as schools and ‘charitable’ activities. This disregards the rise of the UN with its 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which was specifically implemented to create a universal ‘sound [public] morality’ regardless of one’s religion or other worldview." (25 Nov 2023)
Read more at the Secular Association of NSW

Paul Gregoire: Hate Speech, Gay Conversion and the NSW Faith Lobby: Minns’ Religious Freedoms Crusade
"The Faith Affairs Council may sound like a small innocuous body that won’t hold much influence over parliament. However, religious politicians – and locally that predominately means Christian members – have been concerned with the resurrection of greater religious freedoms of late. And the council is not the only religious body that will be influencing politics, as last month the premier and other cabinet members attended the launch of Faith NSW, which is a new multifaith lobby group that will make representations to the Faith Affairs Council and government." (23 Nov 2023)
Read more at Sydney Criminal Lawyers