Two steps forward...

[Hermit]

Fucking hell! http://www.theage.com.au/national/educa ... .html#poll

Seraph, what kind of support does all this shit have among the general populace?

I think that most Australians are quite apathetic about it, but going by the amount of time both Julia Gillard and the previous Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, bent over backwards every time the Australian Christian Lobby asks to interview them, it seems incredibly fearsome of its electoral clout. Whenever the Prime Minister is asked about the matter of school chaplaincy in government schools she replies with words to the effect of: "That's what the people want." At least that is the only answers I have ever encountered by her. Our state governments seem to be on the same page. They all are running scared of losing votes. I think the Australian Christian Lobby could not hope to be more successful than they are, but then you never know what other ambitions they might harbour.

[Cormac]

And much appreciative kudos to Ronald James Williams for his high court challenge. A man who's putting his money where his mouth is, hopefully with a good result for all involved and interested in keeping state education secular.



Edit: There's an Australian Trust Fund set up for donations (details at above link). I've sent something for the cause.

I figured there'd be a strong constitutional argument, and here it is.

However, Ireland has pretty much the same measure in our Constitution, and yet our Supreme Court has found that despite the fact of a constitutional ban on the government endowing religions, vast amounts are handed over every year to churches (mainly the catholic church) to run public schools, over which the state has seen fit to give authority to the church.

Doublespeak and cognitive dissonance are alive and well, and living in our Supreme Court.

[Cormac]

Fucking hell! http://www.theage.com.au/national/educa ... .html#poll

Seraph, what kind of support does all this shit have among the general populace?

I think that most Australians are quite apathetic about it, but going by the amount of time both Julia Gillard and the previous Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, bent over backwards every time the Australian Christian Lobby asks to interview them, it seems incredibly fearsome of its electoral clout. Whenever the Prime Minister is asked about the matter of school chaplaincy in government schools she replies with words to the effect of: "That's what the people want." At least that is the only answers I have ever encountered by her. Our state governments seem to be on the same page. They all are running scared of losing votes. I think the Australian Christian Lobby could not hope to be more successful than they are, but then you never know what other ambitions they might harbour.

Well, from up here it seemed that Rudd was a gibbering god-botherer, so it is no surprise!

I am disappointed for Australia though. Oz always seemed to me to be modern, independently minded, rugged, smart, and clever.
(Despite Neighbours, H&A, etc.)

It turns out that you're no cleverer than the rest of us in this regard. The last light of sanity has been extinguished...

[Hermit]

Julia Gillard on religion, political lobbies and fear of everything

[devogue]

''We feel we have a mandate to work with all children in Victoria. Those poor independent schoolchildren - I don't want them to miss out,'' Dr Paddison told a meeting called to celebrate Christian religious education in schools in the face of a ''concerted attack'' on Access Ministries.

Fucking unbelievable.

[Hermit]

The challenge regarding the constitutionality of the Australian National School Chaplaincy Program has commenced today with a three day hearing in front of the High Court. Summary of proceedings so far here.

[Hermit]

The High Court challenge has been upheld. Commonwealth funding of the National School Chaplaincy Program has been ruled unconstitutional.

From the judges' verdict:

"By majority, the High Court held that the Funding Agreement and payments made to SUQ under that agreement were invalid because they were beyond the executive power of the Commonwealth."

Disappointingly, the other ground for Commonwealth funding of the NSCP was rejected on a technicality.

"The High Court unanimously dismissed that part of Mr Williams' challenge based on s 116 of the Constitution. Relevantly, s 116 provides that "noreligious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under theCommonwealth". Mr Williams contended that the definition of "school chaplain" in the NSCPGuidelines imposed a religious test for that office, and that the position of a "school chaplain" wasan "office ... under the Commonwealth". The High Court held that the school chaplain engaged bySUQ to provide services at the School did not hold office under the Commonwealth. The chaplaindid not enter into any contractual or other arrangement with the Commonwealth."

SUQ stands for Scripture Union Queensland. It is that state's contractor that supplies the chaplains.

[FBM]

Please bring some of those Aussie judges over here. We need them.

http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/ ... ome|online

When religion and textbooks clash

In downtown Seoul, we often find cars equipped with speakers and covered with signs with people inside shouting, “Believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. If not, you will end up in hell.”

The speakers constantly blast loud voices soliciting Christian beliefs. I personally know many respectable Christians, but this kind of mission work makes me frown. I also run into Christians propagating their religion on the subway. Their passion and sense of calling is noteworthy, but at the same time, I cannot help but pity them. Of course, they must find a non-believer like me pitiful. We live our own lives while feeling compassionate for each other. I find their loud evangelical work somewhat uncomfortable but I tolerate it.

If they become excessively loud, I would protest or request them to stop. Nevertheless, I am willing to endure a certain degree of discomfort. While some Christians condemn George Winston’s New Age music, they are not preventing me from listening to the music.

I find it interesting that Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta believe in Scientology. I also find it convincing that the Vatican is sensitive about movies like “Avatar” and “The Da Vinci Code” and the conservative Christians are irritated by “The Passion of the Christ.”

But I draw the line at Lady Gaga. It is too hard to tolerate the attempt to do away with her concert. Those in Korea, Indonesia and other countries around the world who fought to ban her show were displaying religious arrogance. This viewpoint is starting to affect other aspects of our society as well.

Embracing the requests of the Society for Textbook Revision, a Christian group, the high school science textbooks have removed or revised the description on archaeopteryx as a proof of evolution.

The passage on the evolution of horses is to be omitted. Since the sections on archaeopteryx and horses were already controversial in mainstream academia, the omission does not mean rejecting evolution and embracing creation. However, the objective of the Society for Textbook Revision is not to establish proper evolution theory but to remove evolution from textbooks altogether.

The science curriculum mandated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology clearly states that textbooks must include “the key ideas of evolutionary theory” and help “understand the theory of evolution.”

It is a serious issue that the textbooks that our children learn from are influenced by a certain religion. The removal of evolution is accepted as grave crisis in academia. Mediating between politics and religion is hard enough, but this time religion and education are entangled.


*The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

by Noh Jae-hyun