FROM THE EDITOR Beware the dogma.

Churches are not democracies and should not presume to govern by exerting influence over elected leaders.

As a non-believer, I’m weary of the influence religion exerts on my life. People choose their religious beliefs, which, is their right, but it doesn’t come with a mandate to impose those beliefs on others. I may choose to wear a saucepan on my head on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I wouldn’t expect everyone else to have to join in.

The same can’t be said of religion. In some countries Islamic Sharia Law is imposed on all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs (see Peter Tatchell’s story on Nigeria on page 92.) Across the Middle East and northern Africa, Muslims are in deadly clashes with other Muslims over what should be surmountable difference in their beliefs.

But a more subtle exertion of churchy power exists closer to home – in fact, we’re victims of it here in Australia.

Under our previous Labor government, Prime Minister Julia Gillard refused to consider same-sex marriage and repeatedly confirmed her personal opposition – despite her own status as an atheist in a de facto relationship.

On paper, marriage equality looks like a vote-winning policy. The last Galaxy poll showed an overall approval of 64 per cent with an 81 per cent approval among people aged 18-24. The Roy Morgan poll has it at 68 per cent. A News poll from 2011 had it as high as 70 per cent.

Gillard’s bizarrely out-of-character stance has been attributed to a party room deal with a faction of conservative Christians within Labor who helped keep her in power. Greens’ senator, Scott Ludlam discusses this in our interview with him on page 44.

Things are unlikely to change under our current PM, Tony Abbott and, again, it’s the religious dogma of an elite few that’s frustrating the wider majority. Abbott’s close affiliation with Catholic Cardinal George Pell is well documented. Ostensibly there’s no harm in a politician having a friendship with a highranking church official. But Mr Abbott’s own unease in discussing the affiliation is telling. In a memorable Lateline interview back in 2010 he claimed to have forgotten a meeting he had with Pell just two weeks earlier. Look it up on You Tube.

Opposition to marriage equality comes from the church’s hierarchy, not the average churchgoer. From the Galaxy poll I quoted above, 53 per cent of Christians are in favour of same-sex marriage. Support among grassroots Catholics is surprisingly high despite the 80,000 letters George Pell sent his flock urging them to lobby their MPs against marriage equality back in 2012. Yes, it’ll be a cold day in hell before Pell and Abbott sanction marriage equality. Let’s not kid ourselves. At no point in the near future is the Catholic Church going to be okay about gay marriage, openly gay priests or publicly acknowledge homosexuality as being God’s intended orientation for some. Yet your taxes and my taxes subsidise their schools, colleges, hospitals and universities – institutions that are run as private enterprises and turn multi-million dollar profits – on which they pay no tax.

Disgracefully, both the Catholic and Anglican churches used their influence in parliament to only allowed our AntiDiscrimination legislation to pass into law if they were exempted. That means that, unlike any other business or government department, they still have the right to sack employees simply for being gay, or expel openly gay students from their schools and universities.

Religious belief can inspire – from great works of art to selfless acts of humanitarian compassion. It can also be used to wage war and oppress. The establishment churches are among the oldest and richest institutions on Earth, which makes them powerful. But they are not democracies and they should not presume to govern by exerting influence over elected leaders, or by stealth.

Now, who wants to join me in the Church Of The Divine Saucepan Head? Tax free profits guaranteed! Andrew Creagh, Founding Editor