Secular Agenda

With increasing numbers of Australians walking away from religion, there is a growing need for support services to help people navigate the journey out of religion and to overcome the trauma of having lived with strict religious dogmas or having suffered years of abuse in coercive and repressive religious environments. One organisation helping to address this need in Australia is R

There has been increasing interest in a shadowy network of free-market think tanks seeking to influence economic and political policy in countries around the world, including in Australia. One emerging element of the Atlas Network is Christian Nationalism. This episode features an interview with Lucy Hamilton (1:48), who is currently undertaking PhD research into the links between

With Donald Trump set to return to the presidency in 2025, the Christian Nationalist agenda looms large in the United States. But what will Trump’s re-election mean for the Christian Right in Australia? This episode features an interview with Clare Heath-McIvor (1:42), who is host of the ‘Unchurchable’ podcast, which examines religious trauma, damaging theologies, and life af

Each month, the Rationalist Society of Australia hosts a webinar, with a guest speaker, or speakers, presenting on a topic of interest. We share highlights of our past webinars here on this podcast. This episode features an interview with New South Wales upper house member Abigail Boyd, of the The Greens. For our October 2022 webinar, Abigail joined with other guest speakers to dis

Each month, the Rationalist Society of Australia hosts a webinar, with a guest speaker, or speakers, presenting on a topic of interest. We share highlights of our past webinars here on this podcast. This episode features an interview with investigative journalist David Hardaker from our webinar in April 2024. David is well-known for his reporting on the controversies at Hillsong Ch

This episode explores the stalemate in federal politics over proposals to remove religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws. It features an interview with teacher Steph Lentz (1:48), who was fired from a Christian school because of her homosexuality. Steph has been a vocal advocate for the need to remove such exemptions from anti-discrimination laws. In 2023, she told her s

This episode features highlights from our February 2024 RSA Webinar, when Stephen Evans, the Chief Executive Office of the UK’s National Secular Society, shared insights on the entanglement of church and state in his country. With Christianity continuing to decline in the UK, Stephen spoke on why it is time to cut symbolic and institutional ties with the Church of England.

This episode examines the religious dominance of important national commemorations, such as Anzac Day, and the need for secular reform of such events. The episode features an interview with Army veteran Sam Proctor (1:50), who separated from the Australian Army last year after 10 years of service. Sam raised the problem as part of his submission to the Royal Commission into Defence

Each month, the Rationalist Society of Australia hosts a webinar, with a guest speaker, or speakers, presenting on a topic of interest. We share highlights of our past webinars here on this podcast. This episode features highlights from our September 2023 webinar, when Dr Rebecca Banham shared insights into her research on the Australian media’s response to the rise of non-relig

This episode explores the development in New South Wales of the Faith Affairs Council and the state Labor government’s decision to block non-religious and ex-religious representation from the body. The episode features an interview with Steve Marton (2:25), who is president of Sydney Atheists. In November 2023, the state government rejected his application to become a member of t