The Undeniable Nexus of Religion and Politics

The extremist statements by some of Sydney’s Islamic preachers attacking democracy and arguing the state of Israel must be abolished have ignited debates about religion’s place in Australian society. The ex-ALP senator Fatima Payman’s admission she sought advice from Allah when justifying her crossing the floor to recognise Palestinian statehood also has led to controversy.

On one side of the debate are those arguing there is no place for religion in the public square when deciding government policy.  As Australia is a secular society and not, like Iran, a theocracy where the supreme religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei rules, the argument is that religion is a private affair.

The belief there is no place for religion in politics explains why critics denigrated Tony Abbott as “the mad monk” and why Kevin Andrews, responsible for stopping the ACT and the NT from introducing state-sanctioned suicide, was also attacked for being a politician of faith. Negating religion also justifies the argument faith-based schools must be denied the freedom they currently have to decide who they employ and who they enrol.  Many supporting state-sanctioned suicide and abortion on demand also argue religion is irrelevant.

Reality check: those arguing religion has no place in parliament and public square ignore the origins and evolution of Australia’s Westminster inspired parliamentary and common law systems. What we now take for granted as Western liberal democracy, including the inalienable right to liberty and freedom, has its origins in the Bible.  Foundational documents such as Magna Carta are deeply imbued with religious teachings.

Foundational documents such as Magna Carta are deeply imbued with religious teachings.

Drawing on the Bible’s admonition that even those most powerful must abide by God’s law, the Magna Carta, signed in 1215, guaranteed freedoms such as the right to a just and fair trial and the law applying equally to all. One of England’s most famous jurists, Lord Denning, describes the Magna Carta as “the greatest constitutional document of all time, the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot”. Such is the continuing influence of religion that King Charles III’s coronation oath includes the words “God of compassion and mercy whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve, give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth”.

While no longer taught in schools, it’s no accident the preamble to the Australian Constitution includes the phrase “humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God” and, except for the ACT, all parliaments around Australia still begin with the Lord’s Prayer.

Based on the Jesus’ admonition “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” it is true that religious rulers do not reign supreme.  At the same time Christianity deeply imbues and informs our political and legal systems.

As argued by the Perth academic and Quadrant contributor Augusto Zimmermann, “Judeo-Christian values were so embedded in Australia so as to necessitate the recognition of God in the nation’s founding document … it is evident that the foundations of the Australian nation, and its laws, have discernible Christian-philosophical roots.”

Those arguing religious beliefs must be kept private also ignore the reality there is no such thing as a value-free system of beliefs. Whatever a person does or decides is informed and underpinned by a particular moral or ethical system. For Senator Payman it’s the Koran and the teachings of Allah.  For those arguing against religion in the public square and in deciding government policy, their beliefs define them as agnostic or atheistic.

Decisions about right and wrong, what constitutes good and bad behaviour, and how societies are best structured don’t occur in a moral and ethical vacuum.  As a result, it is critically important to decide what system of beliefs and morals best promotes human flourishing and an open and free society. History proves totalitarian ideologies like fascism and communism are antithetical to what best promotes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  History also proves self-serving, ego-centred beliefs rarely, if ever, promote the common good. While Islamic cultures draw on the Koran, Hindu cultures the Bhagavad Gita and Chinese pay homage to Confucius, it is Judaeo-Christianity, especially the New Testament, that provides the West’s moral and spiritual compass.

Central to Christ’s teachings is the belief as all are made in the image of God, all deserve to be treated as equals.  ‘Love they neighbour as thyself’, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ and advice to ‘turn the other cheek’ also explain why Western cultures, relatively speaking, are so peaceful and prosperous.

Dr Kevin Donnelly is a senior fellow at the ACU’s PM Glynn Institute.  Registration for his upcoming Sydney book launch with the Hon Tony Abbott AC can be made at kevindonnelly.com.au