I picked up on Tele that the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is now reviewing
the Australia’s framework on religious freedoms, as next step from the Ruddock
Review. Are employment issues included, I puzzled?
Coincidentally (or otherwise) the Folau-Rugby Australia controversy put
a spotlight on employment contracts,
codes of conduct, and organisational policies as spaces where religious
freedoms are being challenged. But how are changes being made by some employers
to contracts, codes and organisational policies sit with understandings of religious
freedom as a natural law?
Christians work in government institutions, Not-for-Profit Organisations,
private sector, etc. Presumably they go about their business doing their best
for their employers and the public (as Christianity requires). Still, if the government
is to cast a big-picture gaze on contracts, policies and codes this will be a
productive exercise. It will help to lay a framework that does not violate a
person’s religious freedom.
I came across another related Federal Government response I was not
aware of. I am pasting their summary here:
Our response to the Religious Freedom
Review includes
·
establishing religion as a protected
attribute in a new Religious Discrimination Act, rendering discrimination on
this basis unlawful;
·
establishing a new statutory position
of Freedom of Religion Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission;
·
developing a Human Rights Legislation
Amendment Bill for introduction into Parliament as soon as practicable,
implementing a range of amendments recommended by the Ruddock Review;
·
supporting the Australian Human
Rights Commission to increase community awareness of the importance of freedom
of religion.
We look forward to consulting on the
legislative package, which we intend to introduce in 2019.
How the ALRC review tackles issues at hand is no small matter both in
terms of what it focuses on and what it omits. It seems to me whether we like
it or not, some of the employment issues at play are those touching on religious
freedoms and natural law.
Individual and religious freedoms are understood to exist in nature (known
as negative rights). But they were still hard-won over centuries! They didn’t just
happen. Definitions and background of religious freedoms and how they came
about to frame Western society and structures are useful.
Religious freedom as a natural right - Western civilisation had come to regard religious freedom as
a natural right which cannot be just taken away by anyone (inalienable). They
cannot be extinguished (i.e. negative freedoms are not given to you; unlike
positive rights).
Where did the idea of religious freedom as a natural right that
cannot be taken away come from? - This idea
was influenced particular Greco-Roman and Germanic philosophies. It was also
taken from the Bible. This includes movers and shakers such as Thomas Aquinas,
Immanuel Kant, Martin Luther, Locke, the Enlightenment; the Protestant
Reformation church movements had a role in the solidifying religious freedoms
as natural rights onto Western systems. So these are not new ideas, see Wikipedia (Wed Link) and also here
here.
In their
wisdom and perhaps for good measure those who have gone before enshrined
religious freedom in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps they
had seen enough turmoil in Europe and elsewhere.
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and
in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.
So as reviews proceed on framework and protections it is about to
be seen how Australia align with the wisdom of UN’s Article 18 of Declaration
of Human Rights.
It is also going to be seen how principles of religious freedom as a
natural right long embedded in Western institutional structures are going to be
treated.
Needless to say employment contracts, codes and organisational policies are
tied up with such big picture stuff, they don’t exist in a vacuum.
That all said Christianity is about “Love your God…and love
your neighbour as yourself”. That is the context.
Web Links
Government Response to Religious Freedom Review, Prime Minister
& Attorney General. Media Release. 13 December 2018
·
Highlights what Government is pursuing to protect religious
freedoms after the Ruddock Review
Review into the Framework of Religious Exemptions
in Anti discrimination Legislation, 10 April 2019
https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Media/Pages/Review-into-the-Framework-of-Religious-Exemptions-in-Anti-discrimination-Legislation-10-april-19.aspx
It
includes Terms of Reference:
·
Review of religious exemptions in anti-discrimination law
·
Scope
of the reference
·
Consultation
·
Timeframe
for reporting
Australian Law Reform Commission, Background Paper:
Inquiry into Religious Exemptions in Anti-discrimination Legislation,
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
https://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/background_paper_religious_freedom_inquiry.pdf
·
It gives you an idea about some of what is in play, worth a
look
Media Release
Freedom of
Religion, Australian Government, Attorney General Department
Definitions/
Background - religious freedoms and natural rights
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