Religious un-freedom – the failure to protect human rights in Australia

In 2016 the Australian Inquiry into the Status of the Human Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief was set in motion. It culminated in a series of live public hearings in June of 2018, held by the Senate standing committee.

In our conversation today we meet Dr Amelia Stephens and Dr Rachel Hall. They are two Australian citizens who contributed written submissions to the Inquiry, and were invited to speak to the standing committee at Parliament House, Canberra. Although Amelia and Rachel spoke as representatives of the religion The Way of The Livingness, they also spoke on behalf of all people who have experienced oppression, abuse and isolation as a result of the religion they choose to uphold.

Amelia and Rachel share their insights into ‘tolerance’ and explore whether this concept truly serves us as a nation. They also reveal the lack of religious freedom in Australia, and the long neglected and profoundly harming impact of this at both the personal level and throughout our society.