At the end of each year, we bring you the top articles that have captivated our members and readers the most over the past 12 months, according to our readership data.
In 2025, Rationale has continued to help serve the mission of the Rationalist Society of Australia by providing a platform for rationalist thinkers to share their opinions on important issues. We’ve published articles and letters from many contributors on a wide range of topics, reaching an audience of thousands of readers across Australia and the world.
Interestingly, the most-read article of 2025 was actually published in the previous year! Clare Heath-McIvor’s piece on the challenges of leaving cults – published in August 2024 – achieved the highest readership for the second year running. No doubt this was partly due to the high public interest in the impacts of cults following the Victorian Parliament’s new inquiry into the issue in 2025.
Setting that aside, let’s take a look at the top 5 articles published in 2025:
1. The world “does have intelligent design”, says Andrew Hastie
In October, Si Gladman reported on Liberal MP Andrew Hastie’s comments to a church podcast that he believes Genesis “answers a few of the big questions upfront”, including on origins, and that the world “does have intelligent design”.
2. Robert Harris, Edward Berger and the Vatican
In February, Paul Monk wrote about the Vatican’s traditional practice of electing a new pope, and how this has been depicted in Robert Harris’ book, Conclave, and a new film of the same title.
3. Christian extremism: An American ideological contagion in the Australian context
In September, following the alleged shooting of a Victorian police officer by a Sovereign Citizen and then the assassination of Christian Right figure Charlie Kirk in the United States, Clare Heath-McIvor explored the growing threats of Christian nationalism and far-right extremism in Australia.
4. Cult survivors on a mission for meaningful change
In July, Clare Heath-McIvor wrote about how the newly established Victorian parliamentary inquiry into cults and fringe groups had sparked collaboration among cult survivors in a push for policy responses.
5. As Christian nationalism’s new figurehead, Trump inspires Australia’s extremes
In February, Clare Heath-McIvor wrote about the rise of the Christian nationalist threat under the second Trump administration and how it was inspiring the religious Right in Australia.
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Published on 31 December 2025.
