Parishioner claims he was cast out from church because of ‘progressive’ religious views

A parishioner at the centre of “physical affray” at a Hastings church has revealed why he thinks he was cast out.

A Hastings parishioner has claimed he was discriminated against because of the “progressive” religious views.

An unholy row broke out at a coastal Victorian church after a parishioner was cast out for what he claims were his progressive religious beliefs.

Michael Phillips took his beef with the Hastings Holy Trinity Church to the Human Rights division of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, arguing he was banned because he was “a progressive thinker”, while Minister Tim Anderson held “fundamentalist” Christian views.

This, Mr Phillips argued, amounted to discrimination based on his religious views.

The tribunal heard the ban followed an incident at the church, in which Mr Phillips made an offensive comment to another parishioner, causing her to become distressed.

It led to “a verbal and physical affray involving the applicant and several male parishioners” in the church’s fellowship area on January 14, 2018, the tribunal heard.

The next day Mr Phillips was told by Rev Anderson he had to apologise for his behaviour before being allowed back to church.

He was later asked to sign an apology and safety commitment, which he refused to do.

When Mr Phillips complained to the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne about being ordered to apologise - in prescribed words - before the congregation at a church service, it supported the Reverend.

“The applicant said that Rev Anderson has a unique view of Anglicanism. He considered that he was excluded from Holy Trinity Church because of the Reverend’s views and not because of the incident.

“In his opinion, if Rev Anderson’s view was more harmonious with his own, the Reverend would have made more effort to deal with the repercussions of the incident in a fair fashion,” VCAT member Susan Burdon-Smith noted in her decision, handed down this week.

“Taking this at its highest, the applicant’s position is that he has been excluded from Holy Trinity Church because his theological perspective is different to Rev Anderson’s.”

Mr Phillips had offered a written apology “as a starting point for reconciliation” to Rev Anderson but it was not accepted by the church or the diocese, she noted.

Rev Anderson rejected the assertion he held “conservative, conventional Baptist” beliefs and did not want progressive thinkers in his church, saying he had never been a member of the Baptist Church and did not take a literal view of the Bible, as Mr Phillips claimed.

“He considers his view to be a high view – believing that it is God’s word but taking into account the author’s intention and context,” Ms Burdon-Smith noted.

In dismissing the case, she said the issue for the Tribunal was not whether the response of the church and diocese was appropriate, but whether Mr Phillip’s exclusion was discrimination based on his religious beliefs.

“The applicant has not demonstrated the existence or difference between the theological positions which would give rise to such a finding and the application fails on this ground,” Ms Burdon-Smith concluded.

She also noted Mr Phillips had disrupted tribunal proceedings with “at times offensive behaviour and failure to comply with … requests” and caused delays.