Historic ‘Christian Freedom Index’ launches at Parliament House

Published on May 28, 2026May 28, 2026 by EF TeamLeave a comment

A landmark report released at Parliament House on Thursday found that nearly three-quarters of Australian Christians have felt pressured to conceal their beliefs in public, online or at work. The Christian Freedom Index revealed that 74 Acts of Parliament restrict basic freedoms.

by the Canberra Declaration Team

Australia’s first comprehensive audit of Christian freedom — drawing on the survey responses of 10,808 Christians, over 40 documented cases, and 74 Acts of Parliament — was launched at a breakfast at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday morning, with cross-party parliamentarians and church leaders among those receiving a hand-signed copy of the report.

The inaugural Australian Christian Freedom Index (ACFI) found that 92% of respondents in its flagship survey felt it is riskier to affirm Christian beliefs publicly than it was five years ago.

The report traces this near-universal perception of deteriorating freedom to the acceleration of restrictive legislation across all eight Australian jurisdictions over the same period.

“The right to religious freedom is being plundered in Australia,” Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney Anthony Percy said of the report. “This Index lays the ground for some rearguard action.”

Seven of the report’s eleven authors addressed the breakfast, with parliamentarians and church leaders also attending.

Among those present were Liberal MPs Alex Hawke and Julian Leeser, One Nation Senators Malcolm Roberts and Tyson Whitten, and Labor MP Alison Byrnes — a cross-party attendance the organisers said reflected the high stakes of Christian freedom in Australia.

A nation under legal pressure

The report’s legislative audit counted at least 74 Acts across Australia’s nine jurisdictions — six states, two territories and the Commonwealth — that affect Christian belief and practice, with nearly half enacted in just the last five years.

Between 2000 and 2020, an average of two such Acts passed each year. From 2021 to 2025, that average jumped to more than six per year — a more than threefold increase.

The ACFI Restriction Index, derived from an audit of 20 specific legislative restrictions, ranked Victoria as the most restrictive state by a wide margin.

Pastoral conversations and certain forms of prayer are now criminalised under Victoria’s conversion practices legislation; sermons on biblical sexuality can attract vilification complaints; and Christian schools face narrowed hiring exemptions.

Western Australia ranked as the least restrictive state, having resisted many of the impositions that have taken hold on the eastern seaboard.

The report identified six primary drivers of discrimination against Australian Christians — four external, two internal.

The first three work in sequence: secular progressivism has recast biblically orthodox belief as social harm; an expanding state apparatus has given that moral vision legal teeth; and the combined effect is a legal asymmetry in which religious freedom rests on narrow exemptions that can be litigated away or later repealed.

The sixth driver is Islamist extremism — documented in the high-profile 2024 stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

Two further drivers operate from within the church itself: doctrinal drift, where institutions have accommodated secular-progressive values at the cost of legal protection for those who will not; and what the report terms “misplaced meekness”: the belief that Christian humility requires silence in the face of injustice.

The silence gap

Survey findings revealed what the report calls a “silence gap” — the distance between Christians who had felt pressured to keep their beliefs private and those who had actually experienced formal marginalisation.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents — 73% — said they had felt pressured to conceal their beliefs in public, online, or at work. Only 25% reported having actually been denied opportunities or marginalised.

The chilling effect — where the fear of consequences reshapes behaviour before any penalty arrives — is outrunning formal discrimination, the report noted, with cultural pressure doing much of the work that law has not yet needed to do.

The survey also mapped the gradient of Christian freedom from the sanctuary to the public square.

Nearly half of respondents — 49% — rated Christians as somewhat or very free to conduct church ministry and worship. That figure fell to 24% for sharing faith in public, 19% for Christian education, 13% for workplace settings, and just 8% for Christian healthcare.

Asked specifically about Christian hospitals, 92% rated them as restricted, heavily restricted, or not free to operate according to their beliefs.

The report documented over 40 named cases spanning the first five of eight stages on an internationally recognised persecution scale, from ridicule and discrimination through to attack — the latter of which included the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari and the ACT government’s forced acquisition of Calvary Public Hospital in 2023.

The baseline is now set

Former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies said the report “carefully analyses the erosion of freedoms in our country over forty years or more,” and called on parliamentarians and religious leaders to read it.

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said the index brought
to light “recent attempts to minimise the role of faith in everyday life and exclude it altogether from the public square.”

The report also noted defensive wins.

In the Northern Territory, partial hiring exemptions for Christian schools were restored in 2025 after earlier amendments removed them. In New South Wales, pro-life groups and medical professionals worked together in May 2025 to defeat proposed extensions of abortion legislation that would have forced Christian hospitals to perform abortions. In Melbourne, the Royal Show reversed its decision to ban the Good News Booth — a Christian exhibit with 108 years of continuous history at the event — following concerted advocacy from Christians across Australia.

The report describes the Restriction Index and its companion survey data as a baseline against which future annual editions will measure change.

The index is designed to be published annually, with the next edition tracking developments across all Australian jurisdictions.

The report is available at australianchristianfreedomindex.org.au.

The Australian Christian Freedom Index is an initiative of the Canberra Declaration.

Republished with permission from The Daily Declaration. The Daily Declaration is Australia’s largest Christian news site. It is dedicated to providing a voice for Christian values in the public square. Its vision is to see the revitalisation of our Christian values for the common good.

Victoria ‘gender pronouns’ case could reshape religious rights

Published on October 22, 2025November 24, 2025 by EF TeamLeave a comment

Melbourne teacher Myka Sanders is suing his Catholic school after it declined to use his preferred pronouns. The case could establish a nationwide precedent for religious freedom in faith-based education.

A legal battle taking place in Victoria could determine whether faith-based schools can uphold Christian teachings on sex and gender without facing legal penalties.

Myka Sanders, a teacher at Sacred Heart Girls College in Oakleigh, Melbourne, is suing Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) after the school declined to use his preferred pronouns in official communications.

The hearing is scheduled in the Melbourne Magistrates Court later this month and could progress to the High Court of Australia.

“This case could finally determine how Federal and State discrimination laws and religious exemptions interact,” explained Mike Southon in a recent email from Freedom for Faith.

“Its outcome may have far-reaching consequences for religious freedom in schools nationwide.”

Monica Doumit, Freedom for Faith board member and Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, recently explained that MACS’s stance reflects Catholic teaching on gender.

“The school’s approach is rooted in the understanding that biological sex is a fundamental reality, and this underpins the educational mission entrusted to Catholic institutions,” she said.

The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA), representing 75,000 non-government school employees, is supporting Sanders. The union seeks compensation and legal orders to prevent further alleged breaches of Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act.

“The Albanese government is also under pressure from the union to tighten federal anti-discrimination laws in line with Victoria and Tasmania,” Southon warns.

Federal versus state law clash

The case exposes a clash between Victoria’s law, which restricts religious exemptions, and the federal Sex Discrimination Act, which gives faith-based schools wider legal protection.

As Professor Neil Foster, legal scholar and Freedom for Faith board member, has explained:

Where a State or Territory law dealing with discrimination provides a narrower balancing clause in relation to religious bodies or educational institutions than the Commonwealth law provides, the State or Territory law will, to the extent of that inconsistency, be inoperative by virtue of s 109 of the Constitution.

This means that if state rules limit a school’s ability to act according to its faith, federal law can override those limits — potentially allowing schools to follow their religious principles without breaching state regulations.

Earlier, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) found that protections for religious freedom are treated differently under State and Federal law. Section 109 of the Constitution gives federal law priority when conflicts arise, a key point likely to be tested if the case moves forward.

“The case has the potential to require the courts to address whether an organisation can rely on a religious freedom right granted by Commonwealth law, if that right is not recognised by State law,” Foster added. “I believe any action against the school should fail.”

The heart of the dispute

The conflict began when Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools declined Sanders’ request to use the title “Mx” instead of “Mr” and the pronoun “they” in official communications.

Under Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act, “gender identity” includes personal references such as pronouns or titles. For discrimination to be unlawful, it must involve unfavourable treatment “because of that attribute” or practices that indirectly disadvantage persons with that attribute.

While Sanders was directed not to use the title “Mx,” she has not been disciplined or dismissed.

MACS contends that all of its teachers are expected to use titles aligned with biological sex — a policy the school applies equally across staff.

“This personal decision by a staff member has consequences that affect the whole school community,” the school stated.

“It illustrates an ideological shift from Catholic teaching and an inability of the staff member to uphold the vision and mission of the Catholic school.”

Legal protections for religious schools

Section 83A of Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act allows discrimination in employment only when it relates to a staff member’s religious belief or activity. Because Sanders’ request is not based on religion, MACS cannot rely on this provision for protection.

By contrast, section 38 of the federal Sex Discrimination Act provides broader protection.

“Decisions in relation to staff which are based on the need to avoid injury to religious susceptibilities of adherents are made lawful,” Foster explained in his legal opinion. In other words, schools acting in good faith may apply policies that reflect deeply held religious convictions without breaching the law.

The case highlights the challenge that Australian faith-based schools face in upholding Christian teachings while managing the demands of individual staff members.

Southon reinforced the broader significance of the case for faith-based education in Australia, writing, “This is not simply about pronouns. It is about whether schools can operate according to their deeply held beliefs without fear of legal reprisal.”

Freedom for Faith has said it will continue monitoring the case given that the outcome could set a precedent for religious freedom in schools nationwide.

by Kurt Mahlburg

Kurt Mahlburg is a husband to Angie, a father, a freelance writer, and a familiar Australian voice on culture and the Christian faith. He is the Senior Editor and a regular columnist at The Daily Declaration. More of his writings can be found at Mercator, Intellectual Takeout, The Spectator Australia, The American Spectator and Caldron Pool.

The Daily Declaration is Australia’s largest Christian news site. We are dedicated to providing a voice for Christian values in the public square. Our vision is to see the revitalisation of our Judeo-Christian values for the common good. We are non-profit, independent, crowdfunded, and we provide Christian news for a growing audience across Australia, Asia, and the South Pacific.

The Mater must not become the next Calvary

Calvary Hospital first, is the Mater Brisbane next?

Published on August 20, 2025August 22, 2025 by EF TeamLeave a comment

Religious freedom in healthcare must be preserved so that Catholic hospitals like the Mater in Queensland do not follow the same fate as Calvary in Canberra: forced government takeover.

Today’s ABC article criticising Brisbane’s Mater Hospital for refusing to perform abortions is a deeply troubling example of the growing hostility toward faith-based institutions in Australia.¹ It paints a tragic personal story, but leverages it to undermine the very foundation of religious freedom in our healthcare system.

While we acknowledge the heartbreak and grief experienced by families facing complex prenatal diagnosis, the answer is not to force an institution to participate in abortions against their conscience. True compassion and freedom allows space for faith-based care.

Let’s be clear, the Mater has every right to uphold its Catholic values, values which are transparently communicated and long-standing. These values affirm the dignity of every human life, even in the most difficult of circumstances.² This is not a failure of care, but a demonstration of ethical values. To demand that a Catholic hospital abandon its convictions to appease public pressure is nothing short of an assault on religious freedom.

A plural system means choice for everyone

The suggestion that the Mater is failing Queenslanders because it doesn’t provide abortion services is misleading and unjust. Abortion is already accessible across Queensland, especially in the metro areas like Brisbane, with numerous clinics like Children by Choice and Marie Stopes International offering it on request up to 20 or 22 weeks.³ There is no lack of access. What is at stake here is not availability, but ideological conformity.

We don’t expect every hospital or organisation to offer every service. For example, we certainly don’t expect Islamic schools or organisations to violate their values to align with mainstream opinion. The Islamic School of Brisbane for instance, is rightly respected for operating in accordance with its religious convictions. Despite maintaining religious beliefs, an Islamic school does not receive the same level of backlash that a Christian one does. So why are Catholic or Christian institutions increasingly singled out for attack? We saw this when the Anti-Discrimination Bill was being discussed.⁴ Christians and Islam organisations both stood against the bill, yet they did not receive the same level of criticism.

We saw this pattern recently in the vilification of Citipointe Christian College, which was targeted for simply upholding its faith-based enrolment policy.⁵ We also have seen this happen with Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra which was forcibly acquired by the ACT Government in 2023, effectively stripping the Catholic Church of its hospital due to its refusal to offer abortion and euthanasia.⁶ That takeover was a shock to the nation and sent a clear message that Catholic and Christian based organisations need to conform or face being removed.

Public funding does not equal ideological control

Critics argue that Mater’s receipt of public funding should force it to provide abortion service. One anonymous obstetrician quoted in the article went so far as to say:

“I can’t for the life of me understand how the church runs the major women’s health service on the south side of Brisbane, under their rules, paid for by the taxpayer.” ⁷

This line of logic is fundamentally flawed, and what this doctor fails to acknowledge is that this goes both ways.

The taxpayer also pays for abortion providers. Children by Choice, a vocal abortion group and provider, received over $8 million in taxpayer funding last year alone (to be allocated across 4 years).⁸ MSI Australia, one of the largest abortion providers in the country, has also received substantial government funding.⁹

Many Australians, particularly those of faith or with pro-life convictions, strongly disagree with the ethos and practices of these organisations – yet our tax dollars fund them. That is the nature of a pluralistic society: funding does not equal ideological endorsement.

To demand that the Mater change its deeply held Catholic beliefs because it receives government support is hypocritical and discriminatory. Living in a diverse democratic country means that organisations have the right to uphold values, even with public funding, as we see across every type of service.

A dangerous precedent for religious freedom

If faith-based institutions like the Mater are forced to abandon their convictions in order to keep operating, we will have crossed a very dangerous threshold. The erosion of religious liberty in healthcare is not just a threat to the Church, it’s a threat to every Australian who values freedom of conscience, belief, and association.

There is an undeniable pattern forming: attacks on Christian and Catholic institutions are increasing, while other religious organisations are left undisturbed. Citipointe Christian College was subjected to a national smear campaign for upholding its faith-based standards.¹⁰ Calvary hospital in Canberra was forcibly taken over.¹¹ But imagine the outrage if the same tactics were used against any other religious organisation. As a society we have decided that we respect the right of, for example, Islamic institutions to operate in line with their religious beliefs, as we should. So why isn’t that same respect being afforded to Christian and Catholic institutions?

We call on the Queensland Government and the public to recognise what is really happening here – this is not about access to healthcare. It’s about coercion. It’s about forcing faith-based providers to violate their conscience or be shamed into silence.

Cherish Life will always stand for the rights of any faith-based institution to provide their care and service without being coerced into compromising their values. We are blessed to live in a country that affords us freedom of religion, however, the danger is that this freedom is always vulnerable to ideologies that oppose it.

By Hannah Newton. Republished from Cherish Life with permission. Cherish Life Queensland was founded in 1970 (as Right to Life Queensland), to advocate for the right to life from conception until natural death and remains one of the largest pro-life organisations in Australia.

Footnotes

ABC News, Emma Pollard, “Mater Hospital’s religious abortion ban left couple feeling ‘abandoned’” Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/mater-hospital-religious-abortion-ban-couple-feeling-abandoned/105532550 ↩︎
Mater Hospital, ‘Mission, Vision and Values’. Accessed 23 July 2025 https://www.mater.org.au/about-us/who-we-are/mission-vision-values ↩︎
Children by Choice, ‘Abortion & Contraception Services’. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://findaservice.childrenbychoice.org.au/#5,-17.581194026506008,146.16210937500003; MSI Australia, ‘Abortion Services’. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.msiaustralia.org.au/abortion-services/ ↩︎
ABC News, Kenji Sato. ‘Islamic College of Brisbane and Queensland Churches Together oppose Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024’. Accessed 23 July 2025.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-08/christians-and-muslims-object-to-anti-discrimination-bill ↩︎
The Guardian, Ben Smee. ‘Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College withdraws anti-gay contract but defends ‘statement of faith’. Accessed 23 July 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/03/brisbanes-citipointe-christian-college-withdraws-anti-gay-contract-but-defends-statement-of-faith ↩︎
ABC, Joanna Howe, ‘The ACT’s takeover of Calvary Hospital overrides conscientious objection and threatens religious freedom’. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/religion/act-takeover-of-calvary-hospital-overrides-freedom-of-conscience/102356586 ↩︎
ABC News, Emma Pollard, “Mater Hospital’s religious abortion ban left couple feeling ‘abandoned’” Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-23/mater-hospital-religious-abortion-ban-couple-feeling-abandoned/105532550 ↩︎
Children by Choice. ‘Funding Boost for Children by Choice’s Crucial Termination of Pregnancy Support Services’. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Media-Release-Funding-Boost.pdf ↩︎
MSI Annual Report 2023. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://msichoices.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Annual-Report-2023_Web-Version_02.pdf ↩︎
The Guardian, Ben Smee. ‘Brisbane’s Citipointe Christian College withdraws anti-gay contract but defends ‘statement of faith’. Accessed 23 July 2025 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/03/brisbanes-citipointe-christian-college-withdraws-anti-gay-contract-but-defends-statement-of-faith ↩︎
ABC, Joanna Howe, ‘The ACT’s takeover of Calvary Hospital overrides conscientious objection and threatens religious freedom’. Accessed 23 July 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/religion/act-takeover-of-calvary-hospital-overrides-freedom-of-conscience/102356586 ↩︎