Balancing Religious Freedom Rights is not ‘Discrimination’

Posted on November 27, 2017 
Filed under Culture wars, Resources

“Australia is in the middle of a debate as to the extent to which religious freedom rights should be accommodated in legislation introducing “same sex marriage” (SSM). Those who object to this idea tell us that:

Christian conservatives – following the lead of their counterparts in the United States – seek to use freedom of religion to justify discrimination against members of the LGBTQI community. This agenda is now being pursued under the guise of the debate for a marriage equality bill. (“After the yes vote, let’s not remove one inequality and replace it with another” Anja Hilkemeijer, The Guardian online, 22 Nov 2017)

The word “discrimination” is a notoriously slippery one, and I would like to challenge the view that recognising religion freedom in changing marriage laws amounts to unjustified discrimination. …”

– Associate Professor in Law, Neil Foster, writes at Law and Religion Australia.