In today’s aggressively secular Australia, we’ve lost something vital -shared moral grounding. Religion, for all its imperfections, offers values, community, and a sense of human dignity that a self-centred, winner takes all culture sorely lacks.

I’m not an overly religious person myself that goes to a place or worship each week but I respect those who stand for something greater than personal gain rooted in tradition, religion being part of the picture.

In a secular society we often loose sight of values, principles and ethics and in terms of secularism it has not made us freer, it’s made us colder as people, dismissing faith based perspectives with contempt, while elevating hollow, nothing much ideologies.

For me, we must move toward a non secular society rooted in mutual respect, moral conviction, and compassion. We are seeing a rise in a survival of the fittest approach which is moving across many countries like a virus affecting many not affected by such an approach before.

I am not here to impose religion on others, but to restore the moral core we so desperately need. This process of seeking agreement across different religious and cultural belief systems will be a challenge, but a true non secular society sees care and humanity fundamental to it's way of operation and life, with values as its core base.

I hope one day Australia and other countries will become non secular societies and places with the benefits that flow. This will include secularism which has emerged as an alternative belief form. It will be up to us as people to make it all happen.

Dear Nathan,

How would you feel about a parent that is constantly complaining about their child's primary school: "These idiots, why do they run a primary school? they should be having a university instead, my precious little genius deserves so much better, this is so unfair...".

Well, that little genius should indeed go to university instead, rather than convert that school into a university, teaching such advanced courses which only one student could make sense of!

Life on earth is a primary school, it has no other intrinsic value in itself.
One learns here how to take care of themselves, how to obtain personal gains: one just cannot yet grasp any higher values, let alone religion, before they first mastered the fulfilment of their personal desires.

Having religion is a privilege for advanced students only: if you try to make everyone have it, most of whom being still unqualified novices, then they will not understand any of it and turn it into a sad joke instead.

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Dear NathanJ,

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The census of 2021 found that over the previous 50 years, there had been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity.

However, the same period had seen a consistent rise in other religions as well as in no religion, particularly in the previous 20 years.

In 2021 the most common religions were:

• Christianity (43.9%) – [compared to 52.1% in 2016]
• No religion (38.9%)
• Islam (3.2%)
• Hinduism (2.7%)
• Buddhism (2.4%)

The decline in Christianity in Australia is considered to be due to several interrelated factors :

1. Sociological Changes: Improvements in education and prosperity have contributed to a shift away from traditional religious beliefs.

2. Institutional Issues: Scandals, such as the child abuse crisis within the church, have led to a loss of trust and credibility.

3. Cultural Shifts: There is a broader trend of declining religious affiliation in Western societies, with many Australians identifying as non-religious.

Secularism is not atheism. It recognises all religions and treats them all equally. Secularism is simply the separation of church and state.

Its origins can be found in the bible : Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25 :

Jesus said : "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s"

Australia is neither 100% secular nor 100% theocratic. It is something between the two. It has been described as “having a principle of state neutrality, or equal treatment, when dealing with religion” – but, its neutrality has been called into question as it has, on occasion, favoured Christianity – and continues to do so, e.g., all Australian parliaments currently feature some form of Christian prayers either said or read at the commencement of each parliamentary session.

Here is an article on the separation of church and state in Australia :

http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2001/05/hogan.html

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Hi Nathan,

There is no evidence that a religious society is in anyway better than a secular society. In fact the evidence is just the opposite. In earlier times when Christianity was dominant in western society, were the majority of people better off? No, religion and it dogmatism and hierarchy of control, subjugated people, and restricted their lives, impoverished them. Today, in religious based societies, are people better off, or is religion used as a method of control, I think the answer is obvious. Religion is a carrot on a stick, it offers false hope of the better life in the ever after, which doesn't exists. Can you honestly say religious people are in someway better than, non-religious people. Are atheists less kind, less forgiving, less violent than the religious, me thinks not. Its what in a person heart that matters, not a belief in a Sky Being, or a magical utopia somewhere out in the Cosmos, those beliefs are simply nonsense, and add nothing to human existence.

Dear Paul,

«There is no evidence that a religious society is in anyway better than a secular society.»

To begin with, there is no evidence that those who claim to be religious are indeed religious - often that is not the case.
When was there ever a large-scale religious society that we could compare with?

«Are atheists less kind, less forgiving, less violent than the religious, me thinks not.»

Quite possibly then that atheists are overall more religious than those who claim to be.

«Its what in a person heart that matters, not a belief in a Sky Being»

Well you just said it yourself!

Hi Yuyutsu,

I have a great deal of interaction with people who claim to be 'Christian", pious folk, devote etc go to church every Sunday, pray to the Lord, involve themselves in church affairs. I call many of them "candle stick polishers", because that is what Christianity is to them, seen to be seen, Me-Me's who use religion as a social out. One woman I know is very involved in church affairs, is she a Christian, in my opinion no, the church is no more than a power trip, outside the confines, she is a nobody, inside she is god. Others not noticed are far more Christian in what they DO, more than what they SAY!