Theists cannot be trusted, because they believe in a higher goal than achieving trust -- pleasing their deities. If a committed theist believes their god wants them to lie, steal, cheat or murder then they will do so without compunction. And since atheists don't have access to the content of the messages they are currently getting from On High, we can never know what their real goals are. So in dealing with theists, get it in writing and be prepared to invoke a higher power -- I mean the courts -- at any time.

Secularism is not the answer. Secularism is the death knell to a society that is already at the brink of going out of control. There is no moral standard and everything is relative and I am not surprised that the outcome of a report is so vague. We need to go back to basics and uphold the Ten Commandments and see society getting back to civility and not the abuse and and disrespect that we see played out in the media and on the streets.

Which ten commandments shall we uphold and from whose particular list Jeshua?

How about we just have laws to dictate how people should behave towards one another and property along with the consequences and make them apply to everyone no matter their belief system?

How about the laws are made with all people in mind and not any particular sect? It’s a radical concept and would be bloody strange for people to object – you’d think they’d have some weird ulterior motives for doing so. :P

Laws that affect everyone should be based on reason, evidence and compassion. People can believe whatever they like on the basis of freedom of religion, but basing laws on any religion is not "freedom" it is the imposition of that religion on the rest of us. Secularism is the only system that protects the religious and the non-religious alike.

Many perceive Secularism as a negative, when it can also be a positive by allowing an equal space for all beliefs and not allowing one to dominate over others.

The Ten Commandments are simplistic, with 4 repeating an order to obey a deity, and 2 more saying don't covet what your neighbour has. The other 4 are pretty basic tenets for any society.

Great points raised by this article.

jeshua, I take it you would favour Australia becoming a Theocracy (as this is essentially what using the Bible as law would entail).

Civility I will agree is needed, yes, but there has to be a common ground on which society operates. Religions, being distinct from each other in often quite fundamental ways, cannot form that common ground without alienating or persecuting others.

Secular societies allow religions as well as secularists to thrive.