Speakers at Sydney Religious Liberty Conference Focus on Loving God and Neighbour 

At a religious liberty conference held 11-12 April 2024 at the University of Notre Dame in Sydney, speakers discussed ways that legal frameworks could help individuals to “love God and neighbour.”

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Professor Michael Quinlan, National Head of the School of Law and Business at the University of Notre Dame Sydney, said, “Loving God and neighbour has never been more important.”

Twenty-four-year-old Joshua Rowe, who works as the NSW/ACT Director for the Australian Christian Lobby, said, “Faith is very important for identity formation. Young people today lack understanding of who they are and what their purpose is. Society teaches them to look inward instead of outward to others and God.”

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He continued, “Looking outwardly can be a huge contributor to the mental health of young people.”

Rowe’s wife, 23-year-old Celine, said, “We’ve become such a secular society that we’ve forgotten the value of religion and we’re walking blindly.”

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Fleur Mulcahy, a recent law student at the University of Notre Dame Sydney, said, “Society is predicated on values whether we want to recognise them or not. We’re made by God and He has given us divine laws. Choosing to go against our conscience is anarchy. Freedom is not freedom to do anything, but freedom to choose good.”

Mary Daher said, “I’m finding that more of Gen-Z are inclined to be more traditionally minded. But you see the opposite as well. Gen Z is the most open generation since World War I.”

Another attendee, Joseph Nunes, said, “In some cases Gen Z can have a lot more freedom of where they want to go. . . It makes a lot of sense for all religious people to be interested in religious freedom.”

Stacy Wang came to Australia as an international student. She said, “Religious freedom is taken for granted. We need to come out more in supporting religious freedom.”

Bernadette Mercieca and Ann Rennie, authors and religious educators in Victorian Catholic schools, spoke on “sharing faith with the next generation.” They said that many of their students are non-Catholics, reflecting the attitude among many parents that a faith-based, values-focused education is desirable.

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Rabbi Zalman Castel AM said, “Teaching leadership actually means teaching agency and responsibility.”

All conference participants acknowledged the need for a positive statement affirming religious freedom in the law.

Referring to a theme mentioned in the conference about faiths working together, Jeffrey Cummings, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said, “We can do more good together than alone.”

A. Keith Thompson, Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia, former International Legal Counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and author or editor of several books including The Economic Impact of Religion on Society in Australia, helped to organise the conference.

He recalled a statement by Latter-day Saint prophet, Joseph Smith Jr, in relation to comments made in the conference about faith groups working together:

“If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for (a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any denomination; for the same principle which would trample upon the rights of the Latter-day Saints would trample upon the rights of the Roman Catholics, or of any other denomination who may be unpopular and too weak to defend themselves. It is a love of liberty which inspires my soul—civil and religious liberty to the whole of the human race.”

Thompson continued, “It’s not just about tolerance, it’s about loving and respecting one another because we understand them more. To me, tolerance is condescending. Respect and understanding reflect the Saviour’s command to love one another—which was the theme of the conference.”

Last year at the same conference, Elder Peter F. Meurs, Pacific Area President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also spoke on the need for laws to allow all people to love God and love their neighbour.

He also encouraged more young people to be involved in conversations regarding religious freedom.

“We have a great opportunity to promote religious freedom and make space for others. I think there's a way to do that. We need to involve young people who will do it in a beautiful way."