Melbourne based academic Dr Denis Dragovic says Australia needs more laws to protect religious freedom because people of faith contribute more to society.
Appearing on the ABC current affairs discussion program The Drum, the Professor of Religion and Society at Melbourne University said religion contributed a lot to society and it was largely not discussed in the debate about religious freedom.
“There are extensive pieces of research that cover how religion contributes to better mental health outcomes, how it contributes to lower crime, how it contributes to increased volunteering, increased of charitable giving and so forth.” Dr Dragovic said.
The academic said society was on a trajectory which was seeing a downturn in religious participation and many people felt people of faith were being “hounded out of the public square.”
Panelist David Marr said the best way to protect conflicting rights would be for Australia to develop a bill of rights that covered all people, and he felt religious organisations in some cases were looking for away to continue discrimination against LGBTI people.
“One of the principal ‘freedoms’ that churches are insisting on is their rights, as the largest private employers in this country, to decide employment – and the provision of services in some instances – on the basis of sexuality.
“In other words, the freedom to continue to discriminate against people like me, and to do it with public money. They do not want the United Kingdom position, which is faith employers – the minute they take a penny of public money – have to live by secular rules of employment.
“They can’t threaten poofters, and they can’t threaten adulterers, with dismissal because of their sexual lives.”
Dr Dragovic said the push for religious freedom laws had nothing to do with religious organisations wanting to discriminate against LGBTI people.
“It’s about maintaining the status quo about having a religious based argument heard in the public square. These are very different issues.” Dr Dargovic said before arguing that the International Covenant on Human Rights outlined that people must be able to both follow and manifest their religion.
The academic said Australia should look at the European Courts who he believed had struck the right balance between conflicting rights.
The Turnbull government commissioned former Attorney General Philip Ruddock to conduct an inquiry into the issue of religious freedom. The report was delivered to the government last month, but it is not expected to be released publicly until after the ‘Super Saturday’ by-elections.
Several government MPs have spoken out about their desire to see more legal protections introduced. High profile government members Senator James Paterson, Dan Tehan and Matt Canavan have voiced their support for additional laws to be created.
OIP Staff
