ABC GM Mark Scott has failed to make good on his promise to give more mainstream coverage to religious issues since axing Radio National’s The Religion Report, says Paul Collins. An analysis of last week alone shows the broadcaster missed at least five big stories.
Religion
VIDEO: Why religions evolve
Author Bob Wright explains how the gods of ancient Greece evolved into the deities of today.
Is this Michelangelo’s first painting?
The painting ‘The Torment of Saint Anthony’, rumoured to be Michelangelo’s first ever painting, will go on display for the first time ever this June.
Political snippets: When is news, news?
Richard Farmer questions Sky News’ decision to report on the Christmas Island detention centre’s Christmas dinner, and Joe Hockey is looking for a miracle worker.
Costello tries to hose down Catch the Fire connection
What an appalling hypocrite Peter Costello is, says Bernard Keane.
Forget Backman — meet the Pope’s anti-semite
Williamson’s a virulent, Protocols-of-Zion-quoting anti-Semite who thinks that the Holocaust didn’t happen. He’s also just been welcomed by Pope Benedict back into the Catholic fold, writes Jeff Sparrow.
Hats, head-dresses and public schools
It is not the Ormiston College uniform policy that needs review, it is the special status we accord to religion, writes Michael Gordon Smith.
Crikey Essay: Churches, tax and deniability
The Australian $80 billion not-for-profit sector is facing two reviews, one by Treasury and one by a Senate Committee, which entails a long overdue look at tax exemption for the unrelated-to-religion commercial businesses of the churches, writes Max Wallace.
Blogwatch
This wouldn’t happen in the US! Wearing a T-shirt that the NSW police don’t like might get you arrested, in and around World Youth Day, an event organized by the Catholic Church that will see the Pope coming to Sydney etc. Unbelievable. SMH, ABC, and according to The Australian, “Strip searches okayed for WYD“. Julian […]
Anglican split a business problem, not a crisis of faith
Jeff Wall investigates what’s behind the split that’s not a split in the Anglican Church.
Bad religion: A harm reduction approach to God
Many people use religion. It provides them benefits we can’t ignore. However, it also causes health, social and economic harm, writes Michael Gordon-Smith.
Time for Camden’s silent majority
The totally expected decision to reject the application for an Islamic school seems to have drawn ignorant statements on one side and ridiculous statements on the other, writes Keysar Trad.
Camden: a tale of cowardice and mortgage belt bigots
Today’s commercial radio talkback was crackling with the “good news” that Camden had been “saved. anything but, writes Alex Mitchell.
Bernard Keane’s confessional: it’s tricky being an atheist
It’s a bit tricky being an atheist sometimes, confesses Bernard Keane.
How not to kill a celebrity public park drug story, by Todd McKenney
Somebody finally told Todd McKenney to shut up. Sophie Black wonders why it took so long.
Census debunks some religious myths
From a lot of cultural indicators, you’d think that religious belief in Australia was on the increase. But if we move from the world of rhetoric to the world of hard data, the picture is quite different.
