Secular Agenda

This episode explores the growing momentum at the level of local governments for prayer rituals to be replaced with more secular and inclusive practices. The episode features interviews with two councillors – Suzy Stojanovic (1:50) from the Maroondah City Council in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in Victoria, and Beth Warren (16:18) from the City of Clarence in the greater Hobart area in Tasmania. Ea...

Each month, the Rationalist Society of Australia hosts a webinar, with a guest speaker, or speakers, presenting on a topic of interest. We’re now sharing highlights of our past webinars here on this podcast. In this episode, we hear from: Jack Galvin Waight (1:42), Regional Organiser for the New South Wales Teachers Federation; and Dr Marilyn Campbell (23:20), an educational psychologist at the Qu...

Each month, the Rationalist Society of Australia hosts a webinar, with a guest speaker, or speakers, presenting on a topic of interest – and beyond just matters of secularism. Over coming weeks, on this podcast we’ll be sharing the highlights of our webinars from the past year or so. In this episode, we hear from: Bill Browne (1:50) , Senior Researcher in the Democracy and Accountability Program a...

This episode explores the question of whether public schools will have a real choice of a  secular option under the federal government’s revised National School Chaplaincy Program. From the WA Public Schools Alliance, Rosemary Lynch (01:43) shares insights into what has been happening in Western Australia, including the push by Parents & Citizens groups for governments to remove the religious requ...

In this episode, former Navy top chaplain Collin Acton OAM speaks of being “forced out” of the Australian Defence Force for publicly advocating for reform of the military’s religious-based pastoral care and wellbeing support provided to service personnel. Earlier this year, the taxpayer-funded Religious Advisory Committee to the Services (RACS) – consisting of religious clerics – complained to the...

The Rationalist Society of Australia is campaigning for reform to the National School Chaplaincy Program. See our campaign page here .  In April this year, Caragh Larsen raised her concerns about the school chaplaincy program in this article by The Guardian . The theme music of the Secular Agenda podcast is called 'Curiosity', and it's by Shimmer. To support the work of the Rationalist Society of...

The Rationalist Society of Australia is campaigning for prayer rituals in parliaments and councils to be replaced with more inclusive practices. See our campaign page here.  If want you see prayer rituals replaced with more inclusive practices, please sign this change.org petition by Meredith Doig, president of the Rationalist Society of Australia. The theme music of the Secular Agenda podcast is...

This episode looks at the religious-based discrimination in the National School Chaplaincy Program that prevents non-religious people from becoming chaplains. We hear from two people who wanted to work in the taxpayer-funded roles but could not because of their lack of religious belief. In Western Australia, retired school principal Karen Garn-Jones lodged a complaint with the state’s Equal Opport...

This is an introduction to the Secular Agenda podcast, by the Rationalist Society of Australia. The host is Si Gladman, Campaigns and Communications Coordinator for the Rationalist Society of Australia. The theme music is titled 'Curiosity' by Shimmer.