Miranda Live: The left’s criticism of Scott Morrison’s religion will ‘backfire’, says reverend

MOCKING Scott Morrison’s Pentecostal faith “lowers the tone” of Australian discourse and will ultimately backfire for his critics, according to a reverend and religion research fellow. Listen to the interview on Miranda Live.

2 min read

August 29, 2018 - 6:55PM

Patriotic PM "introduces" himself to Australians

A SYDNEY Reverend is warning Scott Morrison’s critics to think carefully before mocking the new Prime Minister’s Pentecostal background.

PETER KURTI ON MIRANDA LIVE:

The ABC Tonightly show ran a mock religious skit calling out Scott Morrison’s faith with the line: “We love Jesus but not refugees”. Credit: ABC

Reverend Peter Kurti, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, told Miranda Live that he believes ridiculing Mr Morrison’s religion through comedy and commentating will simply “backfire”.

MORE: NOTHING CONSERVATIVE ABOUT ROLLING PMS

“This sort of behaviour lowers the tone of civil discourse in general, because it means that gradually, gradually over time we lose the capacity to respect the views of people with whom we disagree, regardless of who we are,” Reverend Kurti said in reference to a skit depicting the Prime Minister on the ABC show Tonightly.

Peter Kurti said skits mocking Mr Morrison’s religion “lowers the tone”.

“I think that sort of mockery just leads to a deterioration of civility and the standards of public discourse generally and it’s not good for any of us,” he told Miranda Live host Miranda Devine.

“They are criticising him for deeply held beliefs that shaped his life and the life of his family,

and I don’t think Australians like that and they don’t think it’s very clever.”

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

► CHAPTER ONE: Inside the squad that beat Sydney’s gangs

► CHAPTER TWO: The real-life police fight club

► CHAPTER THREE: The day bikies went too far

► CHAPTER FOUR: Bikie gangs: Warlords of the underworld

Download The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone or tablet to get the full story.

APPLE: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR iOS

GOOGLE PLAY: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ANDROID

The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone and tablet is a crackerjack way to read the stories that matter most to you

Get alerts about the latest breaking news on your locked smartphone screen and then tap to go straight to the article

WHAT YOU GET WITH OUR APP

► Live and latest news — Get the news as it breaks 24-hours a day, 7 days a week

► My News — Your own personal news feed. Tailor your news to get straight to the topics that matter to you

► Today’s Paper — Read the paper anytime, anywhere with the digital replica of the paper, as its printed

► Notifications — Be the first to know when big stories break with instant news alerts straight to the locked screen on your smartphone and tablet

► Live Sport Scores — Stay on the ball with NRL and AFL live sport scores and expect analysis

► Share — Join the conversation and share your favourite stories via Facebook, Twitter or email

► Daily puzzles — With new crosswords and Sudoku puzzles every day, there’s always something to keep your mind active

► Subscribe — Through the app (via iTunes) to start your 30-day FREE trial; then your subscription will automatically renew to $29.99 per month.

FIND OUT MORE HERE ►