Victorian Secular Lobby | Supporting freedom of religion and freedom from religion

About The Victorian Secular Lobby

The word 'secular' comes the Medieval Latin "secularis", meaning worldly or temporal in distinction to the eternal. It pertains to the world that we all live in and share, in space and time.

It is not, as commonly assumed, anti-religious, rather it is non-religious. A secular position is to have 'no comment' to make on religion. In terms of the state, a secular position argues for a clear separation of church and state. Religious people, particularly those who are respectful of other faiths, and wish to avoid state-sanctioned bigotry, can also be secular in this manner. Thus one can indeed be a secular Christian, a secular Buddhist, a secular Muslim etc. It is not just for atheists and agnostics !

The Victorian Secular Lobby is open to all people who support our principles:

1. To promote the principe of the separation of Church and State and equality for all institutions under the law.
2. To resource and promote secular principles to journalists, politicians, and other contributors to public opinion.
3. To encourage co-ordination with like-minded groups to influence public policy.
4. To encourage persons to take up membership and engage in activities that promote secular principles and the Victorian Secular Lobby.
5. To engage in activities, including generating income and expenditure, to further these aims.

Obama's brave embrace of equality

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:44 — vicsec

AMID the 24/7 chatter of the information age, it is easy to lose sight of the transformational power of words. Perhaps that's why one could almost sense a collective gasp after the world's most powerful man, US President Barack Obama, unequivocally endorsed same-sex marriage. The President had previously described his position on the issue as ''evolving'', but the pressure was mounting on him to declare his hand after Vice-President Joe Biden had indicated his support for gay marriage days earlier.

Citing the service of gays and lesbians in the military, and the many committed and loving relationships in his inner circle, Mr Obama said: ''At a certain point I just concluded, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.''

Perhaps the biggest impact of the President's words will be felt beyond America's shores in countries where gays still face imprisonment or worse. Of course, the political repercussions of Mr Obama's affirmation just months before the presidential election will be fascinating to observe.

While his endorsement has helped lock in the support of several big donors to the Democratic Party - the President's ''evolving'' was reportedly testing the patience of one too many cashed-up and well-connected liberals - it is a bold gamble overall. Mr Obama's stance could help mobilise the Republican base in favour of challenger Mitt Romney- a candidate who has thus far enjoyed only lukewarm support at the grassroots. That Mr Obama also affirmed the decisions of individual states, 30 of which have enacted constitutional bans on same-sex marriage, is a nuance likely to be lost in the campaign heat. Mr Obama obviously made his own political calculations and judged his statement affordable, but it is precisely this volatility that makes his stance so courageous and so principled.

The President's position also invites unflattering comparisons with that of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who promptly reaffirmed her own opposition to gay marriage. Ms Gillard has a right to her views, but as a self-declared atheist in a country where the church is far less influential than in Spain or Argentina (both of which have legalised gay marriage) the rationale for her traditional view of marriage, beyond the perceived electoral advantages, is unclear. The developments in the US lend an inevitability to the cause of gay marriage, as the views of more and more people similarly ''evolve''. The Prime Minister risks being on the wrong side of history.

From: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/state-must-heed-judicial-cry-for...

Petrol bomb attack sparks safety fears for Turkish group

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:35 — vicsec

PETROL bombs have been thrown at a community centre prompting fears among Melbourne's Alevi population that they could be targeted with more violence on religious grounds.

Glass bottles containing petrol and set alight were thrown at the front and rear doors of the Alevi Community Council of Australia centre in North Coburg some time between Sunday night and early yesterday.

No one was inside the centre at the time, but a centre spokeswoman said the building's rear door was badly burnt.

State must intervene when sin is also crime

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:34 — vicsec

IN EARLY February this year, leaders of the Catholic Church met in Rome for a symposium on sexual abuse. Called "Towards Healing and Renewal", the event was intended to help the church prevent further abuses, find ''the best ways to help victims and protect children" and ultimately eliminate abuse from the priesthood.

There lies the problem. The church and the state - in any country you care to name - have different ideas about the "best way" to prevent and report abuse. While February's symposium repeated the Vatican's guidelines from last year on co-operation with civil law, the 2011 suggestions were not binding in church law.

The year before, in 2010, the Vatican artificially tweaked its internal laws on punishing abusive priests. But in a document codifying this, the gesture was hopelessly marred by listing the ordination of women as comparably offensive as child abuse. Sceptics are right to doubt the efficacy of internal processes in an organisation that rates the extension of equal opportunity alongside the rape of children.

Church sex abuse inquiry won't do justice: victims

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:33 — vicsec

SUICIDE among survivors of clergy abuse could rise sharply if the parliamentary inquiry announced on Tuesday is inadequate, victims spokeswoman Nicky Davis warned yesterday.

Many victims who rejoiced at Premier Ted Baillieu's announcement that a parliamentary committee would examine the Catholic Church's handling of abuse allegations have since resolved to keep fighting for a judicial inquiry.

Justice Bernard Teague, who chaired the last royal commission in Victoria, said a parliamentary inquiry could be fine if party politics were kept out, but Liberal MP David Southwick demanded that Labor member Frank McGuire step down from the committee.

Ex-pastor's helping hand for colleagues losing faith

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:31 — vicsec

JERRY deWitt ''came out'' a few months ago. It cost him his job, and nearly his house, but he could not be happier because he feels he has regained his integrity.

DeWitt was a Christian minister who stopped believing, and could not abide the hypocrisy in the pulpit. His story emerged at the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne yesterday through his friend and fellow former pastor, Dan Barker, founder of an online support group for clergy who have lost their faith.

The international group, including at least one Australian and a former imam, has grown to more than 200 members in its first year. Most have left their jobs, but more than 50 are still active clergy, Mr Barker says. The group, clergyproject.org, is getting up to 40 applications a month, each of which is carefully vetted by volunteer screeners to make sure it is genuine.

Urgent need to shine light on church

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:30 — vicsec

A HORRIFIC thing about the suicides of 40 victims of a paedophile ring of Catholic clergy in Ballarat is that the toll is surely only the tip of the iceberg.

Sexual abuse usually has an immediate impact but it can be a time bomb, ticking silently until a victim can endure it no more. Sometimes a family may not recognise a loved one's death - say, in a car crash - as suicide, or they may not know that the underlying cause of a suicide was sexual abuse.

The Ballarat detective who compiled the list of 40 abuse-related suicides names others outside his investigation, and hints at many others. More were named yesterday.

Preserving the division between church and state

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:30 — vicsec

Mixing rulers and priests threatens both religion and politics.

ATHEISTS have copped a lot of criticism recently. This week, columnist Chris Berg accused them of wanting to tear up the fabric of Western civilisation. Christianity, he suggests, has left secular society a rich legacy, from human rights to the separation of church and state.

This ''we owe a debt to Christianity'' argument can become a little silly. To begin with, it overlooks the contribution of the ancient Greeks, who weren't known for their monotheism. And very few atheists, it seems to me, want to erase the cultural contribution of Christians. I suspect Richard Dawkins enjoys listening to Bach as much as anyone else.

Sexual abuse inquiry hamstrung by practical limitations

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:28 — vicsec

SURVIVORS of clergy sexual abuse, in the first flush of their apparent victory of winning an inquiry into the church's handling of their complaints, were delighted yesterday.

The relief at finally being heard and the hope of being vindicated by telling their stories were almost palpable.

''I don't think people understand what it means to us. At last these elderly care leavers can get their story out and die with dignity, and our children will understand us better,'' said Leonie Sheedy, spokeswoman for a support group for wards of state.

Church inquiry 'not enough'

Sat, 05/12/2012 - 05:27 — vicsec

THE historic decision by the Baillieu government to launch an inquiry into the handling by churches of clergy sex abuse allegations was undermined last night when a key member of the committee appointed to run the inquiry said it was the wrong body for the task.

Labor MP Frank McGuire, deputy chairman of State Parliament's family and community development committee, said the obvious choice would have been former Supreme Court judge Philip Cummins, who headed the government's recent inquiry into child welfare.

The committee is inexperienced, with four of its six members having been in Parliament less than 18 months.

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