Religious freedom
Muslim groups alarmed by push to ban flag used by Islamic State
The Australian National Imams Council said prohibiting the flag was analogous to banning the Christian cross because it had been misused by the Ku Klux Klan.
- by Matthew Knott
Latest
Gay and sexually active students can’t offer ‘Christian leadership’, says Presbyterian church
Scotch College says it is moving with the times but needs to consider its overarching religious ethos, as the church that oversees it seeks to bar some students from school captaincy.
- by Lachlan Abbott and Nicole Precel
Andrew Thorburn to step down from all board roles
The short-lived Essendon chief executive and former banker plans to spend more time with his family in 2023.
- by Sarah Danckert
Lost in the sand: Christian monastery ‘pre-dating Islam’ found in UAE
The monastery on Siniyah Island, part of a sand-dune sheikhdom, sheds new light on early Christianity along the shores of the Persian Gulf.
- by Jon Gambrell
Opinion
Essendon Bombers
It seems that faith is not only unacceptable, but now must be cancelled
If Andrew Thorburn is guilty by association with City on a Hill, why is Daniel Andrews not guilty by association with the Catholic Church?
- by Barney Zwartz
Archbishop questions commitment to tolerance in Thorburn saga
Andrew Thorburn’s forced exit from Essendon has crystallised insecurities held by people of faith about holding moral views against the secular majority.Â
- by Chip Le Grand
Opinion
Religion
I’ve lost faith that Australia knows how to discuss religion
The Essendon-Thorburn saga highlights that never before have Australians known so little about the foundational text of Australia’s biggest religion. And never before, it seems, had such strong opinions on it.
- by Anthony Segaert
Thorburn church pastor regrets ‘sloppy analogy’; legal options against Essendon grow
City on a Hill pastor Guy Mason repeated his apology for the words he used in a sermon, while a religious discrimination expert laid out a dual path for possible legal action against the Bombers.
- by Anna Patty and Lachlan Abbott
‘The words were wrong’: Dons saga pastor backtracks, Costello pushes for bill of rights
Andrew Thorburn’s messy departure from Essendon football club prompted a conservative church to apologise for likening abortion to concentration camps.
- by Lachlan Abbott and Caroline Schelle
‘We have no problem with anyone’s faith’: Dons boss explains Thorburn call
Ex-bank boss Andrew Thorburn did not declare to Essendon that the church he chaired held views that might be a concern for the Bombers before he was hired as CEO.
- by Jake Niall
A test for people of faith: Faith leaders ‘appalled’ by treatment of Thorburn
While the Essendon CEO’s humiliating exit is further evidence of football club dysfunction, faith groups see a growing intolerance for religion in public life.
- by Chip Le Grand