Ethics & Religion

Pentecostalism: New, old and unchanging

The “new face of Pentecostalism in Australia” was joyfully proclaimed in a recent edition of the Weekend Australian newspaper. “Rock …

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Inside the indoctrinated mind

Earlier this year, I wrote here about radicalisation, white Christian nationalism and how the far and extreme right-wing interface. In …

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Why the Army’s choice to serve God comes at a cost to the nation

On 8 July 2023, the Australian Army, specifically the 1st Armoured Regiment, had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to march through the …

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Peter FitzSimons: ‘Religion and charity’ report will help inform debate

This foreword appears in the newly published Religiosity in Australia: Religion and charity. It is the hoariest chestnut of the …

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Greg Sheridan’s uncritical supernaturalism

On Easter Saturday, The Australian was to run a 1200-word piece of mine about Mathias Cormann being a safe pair …

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Radicalisation and white Christian nationalism

Last year, I had a quick conversation with another writer about the difference between the ‘far right’ and ‘extreme right’ …

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Supernatural beliefs exist to explain natural phenomena

Religion is a human universal. For thousands of years, humans have held religious beliefs and participated in religious rituals. Throughout …

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The day I stood up to bullshit

The first time I was suspended from school came in Year 8. To some, that might seem a little early …

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Euthanasia through the ages

Are our moral judgements about euthanasia a product of our time? If we came from a different culture, might our …

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How I dropped the dogma and took control of my own destiny

I was about six years old when the parish priest walked into the room. His vestments swirled around him as …

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The faithless in foxholes

There is an old saying – there are no atheists in foxholes. In reality, modern soldiers are unlikely to be …

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George Brandis and the Christian persecution complex

Attending the Religious Freedom roundtable in November 2015 on behalf of the Rationalist Society of Australia, I was bemused by …

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