Following SAME SEX MARRIAGE becoming lawful in Australia, a review is underway of religious freedoms.

The YES Campaign for Same Sex Marriage has advocated for the complete removal of religious freedoms from discrimination laws. Christian schools, churches and religious organisations would not be able to employ staff or enrol members or students that share their faith.

The Rationalist Society argues for the same, adding that the “overwhelming” yes vote in the postal survey confirms that such “prejudice” is no longer acceptable in modern Australia.

They are far from alone, and they are not the most extreme.

The National Secular Lobby goes the farthest, arguing that the indoctrination of children into religious faiths is a “tragic consequence” of religious freedom protections in international law. They claim, “It now represents ‘intellectual child abuse’ to allow children to be taught Biblical myths…”

The Northern Territory may be the first to fall, with the Attorney-General’s department currently undertaking a “modernisation” of their anti-discrimination laws which includes a complete review of all the religious freedoms they contain. Their discussion paper on the issue is ominous.

Christians are already getting in trouble with the law for living out the most basic tenets of their faith. These changes would make it worse.

Tasmania’s discrimination laws have seen Christian pastor Campbell Markham and Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous hauled before the Equal Opportunity Commission for publishing Christian teachings. Markham may soon be at the Tasmanian Supreme Court.

Flimsy protections for religious freedom have seen a Western Australian couple scrambling for justice since having their foster parenting application declined based on their Christian convictions.

Anti-Discrimination laws are currently being weaponized against faith-based schools in Victoria to force them to adopt radical transgender policies that contradict their beliefs.

Teaching the gospel, maintaining a Christian home, providing a Christian education to disciple the next generation. All these endeavours, and many more besides, are genuinely under threat.