Senator Guy Barnett of Tasmania continues to argue for the freedom to gift the Bible at Citizenship ceremonies. The Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is still looking at\u00a0the code’s ”appropriateness”.<\/p>\n
See,\u00a0MPs attack Bible ‘madness’<\/a> and\u00a0from October last year,\u00a0No Holy Books 4 new Aussies<\/a>.<\/p>\n I cannot find any convincing reason to prohibit the offering of a Holy Book at a citizenship ceremony.<\/p>\n It is important to note that ‘Secular’ in the Australian context means that no religion will be advantaged over another religion\u00a0by the state. In Australia the state\u00a0treats all religions equally.\u00a0‘Secular’ does\u00a0not mean\u00a0the ‘separation of church and state’ as\u00a0in the USA.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get one point clear at the beginning: Australia does not<\/span> have a legally entrenched principle, or even a vague set of conventions, of the separation of church and state. From the appointment of Rev. Samuel Marsden as one of the first magistrates in colonial New South Wales, to the adoption of explicit policies of state aid for denominational schools during the 1960s, to the two examples mentioned above, Australia has had a very consistent tradition of cooperation between church and state. \u2018Separation of church and state\u2019, along with \u2018the separation of powers\u2019 or \u2018pleading the Fifth\u2019, are phrases that we have learned from the US, and which merely serve to confuse once they are taken out of the context of the American Constitution.<\/p>\n What Australia does have is a principle of state neutrality<\/em>, or equal treatment, when dealing with churches.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Article,\u00a0Separation of church and state?<\/a> by Michael Hogan, The University of Sydney, ARPA, 16 May 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Senator Guy Barnett of Tasmania continues to argue for the freedom to gift the Bible at Citizenship ceremonies. The Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is still looking at\u00a0the code’s ”appropriateness”. See,\u00a0MPs attack Bible ‘madness’ and\u00a0from October last year,\u00a0No Holy Books 4 … Continue reading