How’s that Israel Folau religious freedom culture war going? Ha, terribly wonderfully, just terribly wonderfully. The right is in open civil war about the competing claims of the Folau case, and it’s now being fought out in the pages of The Australian.
In the latest thrilling installment, Israel’s cousin Josiah, part of the same extreme Pentecostalist sect as Israel, has been sacked from working at a Catholic school apparently because of his beliefs. What, sectarian warfare against a Christian with a different emphasis? Er, no, it’s because Josiah believes that Catholicism is a manifestation of Satan, and Catholicism is “masked devil worship”. Well, yeah, that would make things a little more difficult than a drama teacher with a shelf of Judy Garland albums.
The Folau case was always difficult for the right, because any victory by Folau over his right to publicly list those going to hell — everyone except members of the specific sub-sub sect centred on the Folau clan — would hugely weaken employment law, establishing employer demands concerning employees free speech activities as unconscionable. Conversely, upholding Rugby Australia’s right to sack Folau would give firmer definition of what crossed the line from religious opinion into hate speech.
The right seems to have not thought this through at all, when they dived into the Folau-Rugby Australia dispute. There is a “Folau War”, but it’s a civil war on the right, between free marketeers and cultural conservatives.
Now, it’s got complicated for the latter as well. Alan Jones says that the Folau crisis has “deepened”. Not for us, Parrot. Just for you. Especially so since Josiah Folau is reported to have called the Catholic church a “synagogue of Satan”. This makes clear something that’s always been a hidden feature of the issue: that many Pentecostal Christians believe Jewish people to be damned to hell unless they repent. The more extreme the Pentecostalism, the more inflexible the view on Jewish people is. At its outer edge — and the Folau church seems to be there — such sects regard Jews as predestined; in the apocalypse half will convert and be saved, half damned to hell. The expression “synagogue of Satan”, demonstrates the odium in which such strands of Pentecostalism hold Judaism; it’s a term of abuse.
Israel Folau didn’t use any such language in his own proselytising it should be noted; the mention of “idolators” going to hell covers not only non-Christians, not even only non-Protestants, but also those Protestants who vary from Folau’s specific beliefs. The “synagogue of Satan” reference is so sizzling that it was left out of Brad Norington’s coverage in The Australian — either by Norington himself, or excised by subs conscious of the pro- and anti-Folau factions in the Oz.
Mind you, the “pro-” faction was really a pro-“religious freedom law” push, with the notion of a religious cultural crisis being driven in the Oz, by Paul and Joe Kelly, father and son (with Alan Jones as holy ghost). Alas! They’re cultural Catholics who don’t seem to have imagined they would be cast into the same pit with the fornicators, sodomites and “idolators”.
What would be really great is to see the religious freedom bill get up, and for a Catholic school to have to defend its right not to employ a Christian who thinks its students are the spawn of Satan. But I suspect that that bill just got consigned to the pit too. Along with the right’s hopes for a neat little religious culture war.
How do think the Israel Folau court case will end? Write to boss@crikey.com.au with your thoughts and your full name.
Focusing on the cultural war aspects ignores another issue that needs to be explored in this case, and with implication for other ‘sects’ of broader religions. That being tax exemption status.
Have the Folau family managed to register their church with the ACNC? Have they received tax exemption status from the ATO? Are they covered by the Charities Act, for advancing religion?
Because of its size, it arguably meets what looks to be a minimum requirement of 30 members, though it may come undone with the tax office if they’re all just family members.
If accepted as a church, given its size, it is likely to not have to produce any financial statements.
Is the mansion with the pebblecrete pool, for baptising, considered an approved plant and therefore exempt from local and state taxes?
By all means give them freedom, but lets tax them like other organisations where their is no direct link to actual charitable work of donating goods and services.
This I suspect is what they’re aiming for, for the tax exempt status that many ”churches” so covet, did I go there of course….
I would suggest a re-visiting of the tax exemption rules, as many of the mainstay religions are well used to ensuring these work to their advantage, not just around working with the poor & the disadvantaged…
The ‘cultural Catholics’ had it coming for not thinking through the ramifications of permitting hate speech in the name of religion. There are an estimated 4,300 religions and faiths and many of them are deeply antagonistic to other faiths and even to sub sets of their own faiths.
Yes, but every one of them thinks all the others are wrong.
People that are not deluded know only too well that they are all wrong….
Bingo. It really could not be more simple.
Facts are sacred, opinion/belief subjective.
Such an interesting combination; a successful rugby player, religious fundamentalist, Pacific Islander heritage. What’s the order of trumps in this trick, or is it a laydown misere for the right?
Reminds me of the bumper sticker “NUKE the gay, disabled black whales!”.
There seems to be some conceptual steps missing here. While it may be that the Folaus do hold this view about the ultimate salvation of Jewish people, it doesn’t actually follow from what Jonah Folau said. His statement was virulently anti-Catholic, but not on the face of it anti-Semitic.
Also, describing the Folaus as “Pentecostalists” is misleading. The vast majority of Pentecostals (and Christians) are Trinitarian, Israel Folau is not. What he represents may be a lot of things, but it isn’t Christianity.
I agree with your final sentence, but unfortunately for Christianity there is no shortage of people and organisations calling themselves ‘Christian’ (including the ironically named ‘Australian Christian Lobby’) who are identifying themselves with him.
Yes indeed, and I am not trying to plead no true Scotsman in relation to bigotry. There are plenty of trinitarian Christians who share Folau’s views, sadly.
Are you saying Unitarians aren’t Christians?
From the Brisbane Unitarian Universalist Fellowship’s website: “Today, Unitarian Universalism can perhaps best be described as a pluralistic spiritual tradition with roots in liberal Christianity and branches in global religion.” So maybe not actually Christians?
Folau will have to use his crowd funding funds to pay court costs. I am hoping for that result.