Why do we give religious exemptions

Description

There's been a decline in the number of Australians identifying as religious, but that doesn’t make dealing with religion in public any easier. So how should governments of no religion deal with things like religious schools, religious clothing in public, tax exemptions and charitable status for religion? On God Forbid, James Carleton and the panel look at the religious exemptions that exist in our nation. 

In this episode: 

To understand our future we must look at our past, and the history of Australian church and state is unique. The 1862 Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act meant no more taxpayers money given to the church. But tax breaks remained – and religious institutions remain exempt from tax today. 

New rules, yet to come into effect, could see religious and non-religious charities deregistered if staff break the law. This could affect anything ranging from assault and vandalism to peaceful protests.  

What kind of exemptions do we give, and to what kind of religious body? The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster – or Pastafarianism – recently lost a bid to be recognised as a formal legal entity in Australia.