EasyTimes

Japan's GDP per capita is 20th in the world, Australia is 19th (2005 figures).

Back on topic - I hope this does not become an anti-islam, anti-immigration topic.

It is perfectly OK for our politicians to have religious views in fact a diversity of views should be encouraged. If our politicians were honest enough to tell us ALL of their views before an election we would have no need for conscience votes, then we could be sure that whatever laws are enacted are close to the will of the people.

Sadly many politician hide some of their views to avoid alienating "glued on voters" and we have the sham of conscience votes.

Please all people beg, buy or steal a copy of Dawkins “The God Delusion”.
Find access to a computer and look at one of his citations number 99 I think. Web does not recognise his citation but going to Skeptic 3 4 1995 with a search engine and then finding the reluctant www.Irainc.com/swtaboo/taboos/ltn01.html under Hartung’s name
You will find the argument that Christianity is a result of Paul who took the Jewish God to the gentiles. Hartung says “Jesus would have turned over in his grave if he had known that Paul would be taking his plan to the pigs”
Scholarship should allow these pieces to be accessed and then the subsequent search for rebuttal. In the process something of religion and politics and human nature may be gleaned even if disagreeably. The question of in and out groups has a lot to say about humans and the role of religion.

Boaz - you say that these christians are effectively reacting against the imposition of secular values in government, correct?

Here's my issue - secularism is a state without religion - in government, I heartily believe the only way forward is to have an establishment void of religion, because the moment you allow one (even if it is the majority faith) religion to have its influence officially recognised, you are headed down a slippery slope.

If we were to have a majority christian party, then we'll need minority parties for other religions.

Once you start having religious parties, pray tell, aside from the brand of god, how is it different to the politics of places such as Iraq, where Sunni and Shia vie for seats? Where votes are along religious lines, not on policy?

Will we have an Anglican party? perhaps a catholic party, and a good deal of protestants. Maybe the odd mormon, and a minority Seventh Day Adventist party.
The votes garnered by these parties... would they be for the right reasons?

You can say you're resisting secularism, but that goes hand in hand with imposing a religious form. Yeah, secularism's being imposed, but with ideology being such a grey area, secularism is the closest thing we have to neutral.

Now you can argue that secularism is tied to liberalism and the decline of values, but that doesn't have to be the case. If the majority genuinely wants to take Australia to a conservative place, then that's democracy - but don't use that as a trojan horse to proselytise our government.

"In times of grave global uncertainty is there a constructive role for religion to promote compassion, peace and hope for future generations?"
Yes always, as long as it is promoting compassion, peace and hope, and not hate, war and pessimism, those things we don't need promoted.

"Is religion’s role merely nurturing conscience in the political individual or should religious institutions and leaders act on the political stage in their own right?"
I'd say either or, as long as secularism is maintained in government and law. And by that i mean the idea of not favouring a particular religion but at the same time not excluding religious opinion altogether as i see that as a violation of the human right of freedom of religious choice and expression.

"Is there a preferred type of religious belief, practice or ethic which is inevitably aligned to a particular political philosophy?"
Not sure about that, but i do wonder if monotheistic dogmatic religions lean towards authoritarian philosophy, perhaps unwittingly.

Holland has imposed a state ban on all overt religious displays, including the wearing of Muslim veils & Christian crosses.

Such a move, in a world increasingly divided by religion rather than united by it, is inevitable.

The sooner we consider religion a personal exercise rather than as an issue of advocacy, the better.

BD let it go man - as your archetypical aussie - knee deep in immigrants I still have the remnants of my cultural identity branded into my cortex - so I can say with some comfort and indeed authority "she'll be right mate!" Let this misison against Islam go.

Or at the very least save it for an essay that deals with the issue

This guy was discussing the interface between religion and politics - he did, I concede refer to a multi faith tradition - as we have always had from the time of the First Fleet - Jews, Christians of all varieties came and banged heads with the indigenos peoples in more ways than one -

his phrase Australia is now - should have probably read is even more so a multi faith one - the change has been incremental since the flag was raised - hardly a revolution or conspiracy.

We probably havent added too much to the mix of late - I mean the Afghan camel dudes were here for years - so Islamism has been around - I would venture the three GREAT religions Christianity - in all its forms, Judasim and Islamism have been here in numbers for over two hundred years.

The authors assertion was the debate we confront is how religion and politics are best mix - not whether they should mix;

If you want to drag the debate down to the point where we haggle over WHICH religions we wish to engage in public discourse we will get no where - what about Hindus or Budhists?.

And lets be frank - Australia like most Christian nations and indeed people - pretend to be so.