Recommendation 12 The Commonwealth should progress Indigenous belief and spirituality legislative amendments to The Panel is conscious that Indigenous belief and make it clear that spirituality represent an important aspect of religious practice religious schools in Australia and would have liked to receive more information are not required to about the Indigenous experience of religious freedom. make available their However, only a very small number of submissions facilities, or to addressed these issues. The Panel sought to consult with provide goods or Indigenous stakeholders but this could not occur during the services, for any timeframe for the Review. marriage, provided that the refusal: To the extent the issue was raised, the Panel conforms heard that: to the special protections are needed for Indigenous doctrines, Australians’ spirituality and culture tenets or beliefs of many Indigenous Australians successfully combine the Indigenous spirituality and cultural practices with adherence religion of to faiths such as Christianity the body, or it is vital to protect Indigenous Australians’ right to manifest traditional practices while still protecting those is Indigenous people of faith who choose to follow other necessary religious convictions to avoid injury to Indigenous religion is fundamentally different from other the religions in Australia and the law fails to adequately religious accommodate these differences, particularly in requiring public evidence of religious belief that is traditionally held in of secret or by requiring non-Indigenous authentication of adherents Indigenous beliefs. of that religion. In a paper prepared for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in 2016, titled Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Indigenous Spirituality, Practice and Cultural Rights, Katja Mikhailovich and Alexandra Pavli argued that, while much is known about traditional beliefs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, information ‘more is required to gain a broader picture of contemporary religious and spiritual beliefs’. The authors also recommend that further consultations should take place with Indigenous people across Australia to determine more fully their concerns relating to freedom of religious belief. The Panel did not consider that it had either the appropriate membership or expertise to explore this issue further, nor the time to give the issue due
Recommendation 12 The Commonwealth should progress legislative amendments to make it clear that religious schools are not required to make available their facilities, or to provide goods or services, for any marriage, provided that the refusal: conforms to the doctrines, tenets or beliefs of the religion of the body, or is necessary to avoid injury to the religious of adherents of that religion. Indigenous belief and spirituality The Panel is conscious that Indigenous belief and spirituality represent an important aspect of religious practice in Australia and would have liked to receive more information about the Indigenous experience of religious freedom. However, only a very small number of submissions addressed these issues. The Panel sought to consult with Indigenous stakeholders but this could not occur during the timeframe for the Review. To the extent the issue was raised, the Panel heard that: special protections are needed for Indigenous Australians’ spirituality and culture many Indigenous Australians successfully combine Indigenous spirituality and cultural practices with adherence to faiths such as Christianity it is vital to protect Indigenous Australians’ right to manifest traditional practices while still protecting those Indigenous people of faith who choose to follow other religious convictions Indigenous religion is fundamentally different from other religions in Australia and the law fails to adequately accommodate these differences, particularly in requiring public evidence of religious belief that is traditionally held in secret or by requiring non-Indigenous authentication of Indigenous beliefs. In a paper prepared for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in 2016, titled Freedom of Religion, Belief, and Indigenous Spirituality, Practice and Cultural Rights, Katja Mikhailovich and Alexandra Pavli argued that, while much is known about traditional beliefs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ‘more information is required to gain a broader picture of contemporary religious and spiritual beliefs’. The authors also recommend that further consultations should take place with Indigenous people across Australia to determine more fully their concerns relating to freedom of religious belief. The Panel did not consider that it had either the appropriate membership or expertise to explore this issue further, nor the time to give the issue due
religious-freedom-review-expert-panel-report-2018.docx