Victoria: Andrews Government at war with faith communities
by Jasmine Yuen, Australian Christian Lobby:
Time and time again, the Andrews Government has declared war on faith communities by dismantling their religious freedom.
In February, we saw the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020 passed as law. Now, another anti-religion bill – the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendments Bill 2021 – passed in the Upper House last Friday without amendments. (You can read about the bill here)
Both bills were tabled at the most inappropriate time when Victorians were just coming out of lockdowns, and while pastors and religious school principals were run off their feet to get their churches and schools moving forward. Both bills were hastily debated and passed without proper consultation with faith groups and stakeholders.
Both bills claim to end discrimination while sidelining religious groups and undermining freedom of religion and expression.
Why would the Andrews’ Labor Government do that? There’s no better explanation than “discrimination.” Indeed, the Victorian government is discriminating against, and silencing faith communities to protect the LGBT community – even while declaring that, “Equality is non-negotiable in Victoria.”
Just as the Conversion legislation knocks on the doors of churches and Christian families and interferes with pastoral care and Christian parenting – the Religious Exceptions legislation invades Christian schools, organisations and churches, and interferes with their daily operations and meddles with their culture and doctrines.
To make things worse, the Religious Exceptions legislation threatens the very existence of a religion and its institutions.
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