Religion News Selection
February 13 – 20, 2022
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Benedetta tells the forbidden love story of two nuns while confronting gender bias in 17th century Italy (ABC News)
Feb 14 – Paul Verhoeven has long loved viciously ambitious blondes – from Renée Soutendijk’s saucy hot dog vendor in 1980’s Spetters, the final film he made in his native Netherlands, to the masterfully manipulative author played by Sharon Stone in 1992’s Basic Instinct, the last in his run of Hollywood-made hits before the almighty stumbling block of Showgirls, in 1995.
EDUCATION
Few Christian schools want to discriminate – there’s a better way forward (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 14 – (Opinion: Philip Freier) There were no winners from the accelerating train wreck of the federal government’s attempt to pass a religious discrimination bill last week, except perhaps gay and transgender children who won support from the House of Representatives for extra protection in an amendment to sexual discrimination legislation.
Is there a place for trans students in religious schools? These schools say yes (ABC News)
Feb 16 – Theo Boltman’s coming of age has coincided with an often divisive political debate in Canberra.
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Religious Violence
Mob stones mentally ill man to death for ‘desecrating Qur’an’ (The Guardian, Australia)
Feb 14 – An angry mob stoned to death a mentally ill man in Pakistan, authorities have said, in the country’s latest case of blasphemy-related violence.
POLITICS
Labor would ‘deal with’ religious discrimination in government: Albanese (Sydney Morning Herald)
Feb 14 – Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Labor would “deal with” the issue of religious discrimination in government, but stopped short of promising new laws as a matter of priority should it win the upcoming federal election.
Almighty religious protection wrangle has national import (The Australian)
Feb 14 – (Opinion: Nick Cater ) The government’s religious protection bill languishes in limbo but the crusade for the votes of the faithful is raging, says Dennis Shanahan.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Monastic land at New Norcia bought by Andrew Forrest has a Stolen Generations history (ABC News)
Feb 15 – From ten pounds an acre in 1950 to a multi-million-dollar land deal in 2022.
