The Religion Question

Australia does not have an official religion, however the main religion represented by citizens is Christianity. Religion has sparked much debate for years in the Australian community. Should churches pay tax? Should churches have more protection? When is religious preaching too much, especially in unregulated spaces like social media?

The well-known case of Israel Folau springs to mind when I think of freedom of speech in relation to religion. Folau was an Australian rugby union player, most recently representing NSW in Super Rugby. He posted an image to his Instagram account, saying that “hell awaits” gay people, which caused heavy criticism from viewers. 



Rugby Australia sacked Folau for the homophobic comments, however Folau launched court action, arguing that his contract was “unlawfully ended” due to his Christian beliefs.

The situation had me thinking, when do religious views turn into hate speech? Is religion an excuse for discrimination? In my eyes, religion has no right to discriminate or produce hate speech, but as an non-religious person myself, I may be biased. 

There is a fine line between expressing religious beliefs and hate speech, especially when these beliefs target and attack a large community of people – a community that we preach to accept. 

Folau had many Christian supporters behind him, raising over $2 Million from over 20,000 donors in two days, via the Australian Christian Lobby, in the name of religious freedom. Many people in the rugby and LGBT+ community commented on the matter. 

This fundraiser came after Folau’s original GoFundMe fundraiser was shut down. In his original GoFundMe text, he stated “I believe that sharing the Bible is an act of love and compassion”.  

Reflecting on his original Instagram post, his comment about love and compassion seems contradictory. 

 Many people from the rugby community and the LGBT+ community commented on the mater. Former Welsh rugby star, Gareth Thomas, responded on twitter.

“To everyone who reads it, don’t be influenced by his words. Be the better person and be YOU. Whoever YOU is..Hell doesn’t await YOU. Happiness awaits YOU.”

Rugby Australia’s Code of Conduct (Part 2: Code of Conduct, 1.3) states players are to “treat everyone equally, fairly and with dignity regardless of gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, cultural or religious background, age or disability. Any form of bullying, harassment or discrimination has no place in rugby”.

In my opinion, I believe the termination of Folau’s contract was warranted. I think if Rugby Australia were to let Folau play for Australia again, there would be many unhappy rugby supporters, and Folau’s safety may be jeopardised.

To wrap things up, there can be an obvious grey area between freedom of religion and hate speech. I think it depends on your stance in religion. The Coalition is drafting new religious discrimination laws. The attorney general, Christian Porter, said “the laws will protect people from being discriminated against, but will not give them a licence to discriminate against other people.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Future of Public Interest Journalism

Image
As discussed in earlier entries, the recent AFP raids on journalists put investigative and public interest journalism at serious risk.  The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) sees public interest as the freedom of the media to investigate, and inform and comment on matters of public concern and importance. ALRC does not put a singular definition on public interest, instead creating a list of public interest matters, providing parties and the court with useful guidance. The list, including what I have just mentioned above, also includes Freedom of expression, including political communication The proper administration of government Open justice Public health and safety National security The prevention and detection of crime and fraud The economic wellbeing of the country All these factors contribute in assisting courts and parties into making appropriate cause of action, hopefully reducing litigation.  We have seen public interest journalism in ...
Read more

Week 11 Already?!

Image
Week 11 crept up without a warning. As all the deadlines approach, I am slowly becoming more and more stressed, trying to figure out a healthy balance between four subjects and working 30+ hours a week. Despite my struggles, I know the assessments need to be done no matter what. University is my priority, so I find myself knocking back extra shifts at work when they need me (sorry boss).  As a second year student doing a third year subject, I started off the course already intimidated by that fact. However, I forced myself to find the confidence to quickly get over it so I wasn’t hindered when it came to the work.  sleepsmarter.com When talks of the major assignment started, I had nothing. I didn’t have a clue what to do a story on. When I thought I had come up with a somewhat good idea, I re-read the assessment brief and realised it had to relate to the course topics we had covered throughout the semester. So there I was, back at square one.  I was so ...
Read more

The White Guy Isn't a "Deranged Loner".. He's a Terrorist

Image
We’ve come a long way with equality regarding race in the media, and rightly so, it’s 2019! We, as a society, are more inclusive, with some participating in cultural celebrations nationally such as Ramadan. So how is race portrayed in Australian media, and how does this influence our society? Around one in five Australians have been verbally abused due to their race, experiencing racial slurs and name calling. More than one in 20 Australians have been physically attacked because of their race. But its not just race that’s targeted in the media, and in society. Its religion as well. Muslim’s often experience a lot of backlash due to their portrayal in the media, factual or otherwise.  I grew up without a religious background. I never really swayed one way or the other, and whenever I was questioned on my beliefs I would say “I believe in something, I just don’t know what”. However, Australia’s major religion is Christianity, accounting for 52% of the population according ...
Read more