Protect our religious freedom, for goodness sake

As the world recovered from World War II, it reflected on the horror that had taken place. There was a recognition by most states across the world that there was an urgent need for a basic international standard of treatment to which all individuals were entitled, and by which states could be called to account for their actions.

Leading world figures sought to craft a set of principles to articulate these standards. This effort resulted in the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The declaration is a milestone document in human history. It was drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. It was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, and established a benchmark for authentic human society. Its 30 articles set out fundamental principles required for the respect and protection of human dignity.

One of the most important articles of the declaration was article 18, which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Australia was involved in this process through the work of HV “Doc” Evatt and supported the declar­ation.

Later came the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which sought more concretely to bind and monitor states committed to the principles outlined in the UDHR, to which Australia is also a party but which has not yet been ratified.

Numerous parliamentary inquiries into today’s human rights protections have pointed out that of all the most basic rights it is religious freedom that has received the least legal protection and have called on successive governments to remedy this situation.

First, it is important to give due recognition to the Morrison government for its commitment to address this issue. It is finally acting to make concrete change where previous governments have found it all too difficult.

However, what is even more important is that we get this change right. I have had the opportunity to experience fully the lack of protection of religious freedom in our country.

For simply circulating Catholic teaching to members of the Catholic community in Tasmania (one of the fundamental roles of a bishop) I was called to answer before the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner as possibly being in breach of the law.

What we need is a religious freedom act that recognises religion as a good for society and something that must be protected in light of the contribution it has made and continues to make to society. Not only has Christianity fundamentally shaped and informed the development of Western civilisation, it continues to provide numerous crucial social goods necessary for the kind of society we enjoy today.

From schools and hospitals to welfare agencies and aged care, churches provide the social infrastructure that keeps our society operating. If the services these churches provide are to continue it is essential they have the protection to operate according their full religious mission and identity.

We are increasingly witnessing an attack on individuals of religious faith and religious organisations simply for expressing their deeply held and sincere beliefs in a respectful way. Whether it was during the plebiscite campaign, where individuals were threatened with violence simply for expressing their belief about marriage, or more recently in the Israel Folau case where an employee was termin­ated simply for citing teachings from the Bible, it is clear that an aggressive secularist movement is seeking to silence the religious voice in our society.

I am not calling for a bill of rights for Australia as I believe such a proposal involves significant legal and constitutional implications of which not all are necessarily positive. But it is essential that the government does move to introduce a bill that does not simply give more exceptions and exemptions for religious belief. Religious belief is not something only to be tolerated, which such exemptions suggest. Rather it needs to be recognised as a societal good worthy of respect and protection in its own right. Exemptions and exceptions can easily be removed at a later date when we have forgotten the reason for their existence. A religious freedom or religious discrimination act on the other hand, which clearly recognises the positive good of religion, would also ensure that Australia more fully lives up to its responsibilities under the ICCPR.

What we do know from history is that when the religious voice is silenced, society as a whole suffers. We have witnessed in the 20th century that it was the Christian churches that stood up to totalitarian governments and their oppression. It was the Christian churches that proclaimed the dignity of the human person and their freedom.

It is time to recognise the contribution that religion has made to our society, but to do this in a positive and affirming way, acknowledging the good that it does.

Julian Porteous is Catholic Archbishop of Hobart.