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Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics

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Department of the Parliamentary Library Informati nand Research Services For God and Countryo' Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics Dr Marion Maddox 1999Australian Parliamentary Fellow Department of the Parliamentary Library For God and Country Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics Dr Marion Maddox 1999 Australian Parliamentary Fellow ISBN 0-642-52724-5 © Commonwealth of Australia 2001 Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written consent of the Department of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties. For God and Country: Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and may not be attributed to the Information and Research Services (IRS) or to the Department of the Parliamentary Library. Readers are reminded that the paper is not an official parliamentary or Australian government document. Presiding Officers' Foreword Established in 1971, the Australian Parliamentary Fellowship has provided an opportunity for an academic analysis of many aspects of Parliament and the work of Parliamentarians. The work of Dr Marion Maddox, the 1999 Fellow, has been the first to assess and set in context the religious influences felt by current and past Senators and Members as they pursue their parliamentary duties. With two doctorates (in theology and political philosophy) Dr Maddox brought both fields together in her Fellowship project. In for For God and Country: Religious Dynamics in Australian Federal Politics Dr Maddox explores religious influences and debate in and around the Thirty-Eighth and Thirty-Ninth Parliaments. While interviews with some 60 present and past Senators and Members form the centrepiece of her study, Dr Maddox has drawn on the Convention Debates of the 1890s, the Constitutional Convention of 1998 and landmark court cases on Indigenous religious/spiritual issues to present an insight into how attitudes to religion may have influenced the players and the issues in Australia. Dr Maddox gives us an overview of 'the sacred's unruly incursions in the secular public sphere' and sees the work she undertook during her Fellowship as both a complement to her previous work and as the starting point for further work. This is goal of the Australian Parliamentary Fellowship appointments and Dr Maddox has met this splendidly in this publication. iii Contents Presiding Officers' Foreword iii Acknowledgments ix Chapter One: Religion in the Corridors of Power 1 Dinner Tables and Street Corners 1 Beyond the Split: Towards Thicker Description 2 Beyond the Catholic-Protestant Divide 4 Beyond the Religion-Conservatism Nexus 6 Secular Nation, Spiritual Politics? 11 Talking about Religion in the Corridors of Power 16 Religion on the Barricades 19 Religion and Political Formation 26 What's the Religious Problem? 28 Endnotes 31 Chapter Two: With Hope in the Electorate: God and the Constitution 41 Prelude to a New Preamble 42 The Constitutional Second Coming 43 God and the Covering Clauses 44 Spiritual Wealth and Citizens' Rights 46 Humbly Relying on the Blessing of Almighty God 47 Incarnation of the Generic God 51 God's Good Convention 54 A Century of Recognition 56 Reluctant Recognition 56 Ultimate Reliance 57 The Preamble as a Prop to Faith 58 A God Beyond the Counter 60 A Little Bit of God Won't Hurt Anyone 60 Humbly Relying on Everyone's Gods 61 Why Religious Inclusiveness Mattered to the Founders 64 Why Religious Inclusiveness Mattered in 1998 68 The Rise of God and Decline of Politics 75 v Contents Populism 75 Relationship Between Church and State 77 Fear of Divisive Religion 81 'But You Have Made Us a Little Lower Than the Angels': God and Republican Consciousness 84 God of the (Constitutional) Gaps 88 Humbly Relying on Which God? 90 Endnotes 91 Chapter Three: So Help Me God: Religious and Political Vocation 105 The Sacred and the State 105 Section 116 105 Liberal Australia 107 God and Parliamentary Formalities 109 Prayers 109 Swearing-in 114 Declaration of Interests 117 'Conscience' Voting 118 Public Figures, Private Commitments 120 Parliamentary Christian Fellowship 120 Opening of Parliament Services and National Prayer Breakfast 125 Monday Night Group 126 National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values 128 National Mourning 130 Deliberation and Debate 131 Should Religious Convictions Shape Political Views? 132 Why Are We Here? Religious and Political Motivation 134 Should Religion Show in Debate? 138 What is a Religious Issue? 141 Structure, Anti-structure and Parliamentary Religion 144 Endnotes 147 Chapter Four: God and Caesar in Australia 159 Churches in the Marketplace 160 What is a Moral Issue? 165 vi Contents Who can Comment? 170 Who is a Partisan? 172 Who is a Representative? 177 Whose is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory? 179 In from the Margins: New Blends of Church and State 180 Endnotes 189 Chapter Five: Lyons in the Bear-Pit 199 'The Coalition's Conservative Christian Faction' 199 Conservative Christian or Just Plain Conservative? 201 Discussion Group, Pressure Group or Faction? 208 Parties and Factions 211 Conservative Allsorts 213 Party, Policy and Leader 214 From Future Directions to Fightback 216 Mardi Gras 218 Minorities and Mainstream 222 Transition 225 Howard to Power 226 Whatever Happened to the Lyons Forum? 228 A Flash in the Liberal Pan? 229 The Lyons Forum and Religion 233 Endnotes 235 Chapter Six: Sacred Sites and the Public Square 245 The Myth That Would Not Die 247 Religion, Tradition, Custom 249 Religious and Civil Interests: A Classic Liberal Distinction 250 'Religious' and 'Civil' Interests in Indigenous Traditions 251 Discussing Religion in the Secular Public Square 253 'Not a Religious or Spiritual Relationship': Mabo v Queensland 257 'Knowing They Are Genuinely Held': Junction Waterhole 259 'Not Supported By Any Form of Logic': The Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission 262 'The Connection Has Not Been Made': The Mathews Inquiry 267 vii Contents Religious and Civil Interests in the Thirty-Ninth Parliament 270 Religion, the Sacred and the State 275 Endnotes 277 Chapter Seven: Conclusion 285 Wall of Separation or Webs of Intersection? 285 Appendix: Interviews 289 Index 297 viii Acknowledgments This study was only possible because of the support of the Parliamentary Library and the Library Committee, and the generous participation of present and past Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament. In the Parliamentary Library, help with the detail of research came especially from Carol Kempner and members of the Social Policy Group, Cathy Madden and members of the Politics and Public Administration Group and Judy Hutchinson. June Verrier, Carol Kempner and Kate Mathews smoothed administrative obstacles. The final editing was greatly helped by Maryanne Lawless in the Parliamentary Library and by Siobhann McCafferty at Victoria University, Wellington. Remaining errors, inconsistencies and omissions are despite the efforts of Rev. Bill Edwards, Rev. Shirley Maddox, Professor Paul Morris, Mr Jonathan Nicholls, Dr Rodney Smith, Dr Michael Symons, Dr June Verrier and Professor John Warhurst, all of whom read parts or all of the manuscript, in some cases twice, and made valuable comments. Authors conventionally thank their families for their support and tolerance. In my case, the birth mid-fellowship of my son Lawrence, and the subsequent diagnosis of his severe disabilities, increased the usual stresses of a major research project, both for me and for my immediate family. Michael Symons and our daughter Dorothy enabled me to persevere. Lenna Symons, Shirley Maddox and Anna Bianchi know that the project could not have been finished without their help. Willa and Roger Mouldon became our de facto Canberra family. Many other people gave us great emotional and practical support. One of the themes of this study is the contested meaning of 'family values'. Much of my own teaching on that subject has come from Dorothy and Lawrence; I dedicate it to them. ix Chapter One: Religion in the Corridors of Power Dinner Tables and Street Corners Modern Australia has been called 'the world's most secular society'.1 While that claim may be disputed (for example, by New Zealand),2 religion is seldom regarded as a particularly revealing or interesting dimension of Australian national life. Ecclesiastical statements on political issues gain a measure of public attention, but church attendances are in decline. The much-vaunted growth of immigrant and 'new' religions in fact takes up only a tiny percentage of the slack. Sectarianism, once a defining feature of the Australian party system, has faded. So, too, if one believes the 'Tweedledum-and-Tweedledee' school, has political passion. Opinion polls show declining public faith in political processes, decreasing party identification among voters and high levels of ignorance and misinformation about political players and institutions. Victorian etiquette is no longer needed to quarantine once incendiary topics: religion and politics have become the things no one would bother to discuss at the dinner table.3 The academic world is scarcely more interested. Although Australia boasts substantial scholarship in both religion and politics, there is little sense of any noteworthy overlap.4 Australian scholars
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