More commentary in The Age | The Rise of Atheism

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins won both the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los Angeles Times Literary Prize in 1987 for The Blind Watchmaker...

Phillip AdamsA lifelong atheist, Phillip Adams started writing on the joys of disbelief, the merits of the meaningless universe and the sins of religion half a century ago...

Taslima NasrinA physician, a writer, a feminist, human rights activist and a secular humanist...

Peter SingerPeter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, a position he has held since 1999...

Catherine DevenyCatherine Deveny is a comedy writer, stand-up comedian, and an opinion columnist in The Age newspaper since 2001...

PZ MyersPZ Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) and the author of the science blog Pharyngula ...

Sue-Ann PostSue-Ann Post has created her own brand of information charged comedy that has shocked and delighted audiences around Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA...

Kylie SturgessKylie started her working life as an award-winning English teacher and has continued to keep busy with the weekly podcast The Skeptic Zone...

Dan BarkerDan Barker is co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists...

John PerkinsDr. John L Perkins is an economist and atheist activist and a regular contributor to freethought magazines. He has qualifications from universities in Melbourne and London...

Tamas PatakiDr. Tamas Pataki is honorary senior fellow at the University of Melbourne and honorary fellow of Deakin University...

Russell BlackfordRussell Blackford is an Australian writer and editor. His publications include novels, short stories, academic monographs, and numerous book chapters...

Stuart BechmanStuart Bechman is completing his first year as president of the board of Atheist Alliance International, and the first AAI conference under his direction...

Max WallaceMax Wallace is Director of the Australia New Zealand Secular Association (ANZSA). His idea for the first conference on the lack of constitutional separation of church and state...

Ian RobinsonIan Robinson is President of the Rationalist Society of Australia and for a number of years edited the Australian Rationalist...

AC GraylingAnthony Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSL, FRSA is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford...

Robyn WilliamsScience journalist and broadcaster, Robyn Williams, presents Radio National's Science Show, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation....

Simon TaylorSimon Taylor defines the difference between sleight of hand and sleight of mind magic. Through studies in psychology, practice of hypnosis and experience in the performing arts...

NonStampCollector is one of the highest-subscribed atheist movie-makers on Youtube. His animations have had over a million views, and have been featured on Pharyngula and RDnet...

Julian Morrow is a co-founder of The Chaser, a satirical media empire which rivals Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in all fields except power, influence, popularity and profitability....

Craig Reucassel was a founding editor of The Chaser newspaper. With the Chaser he has gone on to do shows on the ABC such as The Election Chaser, CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything. ...

Lyn Allison was a member of the Australian Senate from 1996 to 2008, representing the state of Victoria and was the last federal parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats....

Dr Leslie Cannold is a bio-ethicist, researcher, writer, commentator and an Honorary Fellow at the School of Philosophy, Anthropology, & Social Inquiry at the University of Melbourne....

Maggie Millar is an Honours graduate of RADA in London, having won a scholarship to study there, and in her graduation year she won the 'Gertrude Lawrence Award for Best Performance'....

Jane Caro wears many hats; including author, lecturer, mentor, social commentator, columnist, workshop facilitator, speaker, broadcaster and award winning advertising writer.....

Tanya Levin grew up in the church that became Hillsong, the country's most ambitious, entrepreneurial and influential religious corporation. Tanya Levin is now a social worker and atheist....

Mark Tier author, businessman, and former investment adviser, decided he was an atheist while attending a Church of England high school and the following year won the school's Divinity Prize!.....

The Rise of Atheism Rss

More commentary in The Age

Posted on : 09-10-2009 | By : davo | In : Commentary, Media

Tags: discussion, Media, the age

2

Continued discussion and commentary is occuring around the web, but here are some comments that have been published in The Age that you may find an interesting read.

Published Thursday 8/10
Money

THE Parliament of World Religions will receive $4.5 million from the taxpayer. Will the Atheist Foundation get its proportional $500,000? Somehow, I don’t think so.

Tony Dear, Forest Hill [Vic.]

Published Friday 9/10

'Worthless' causes

IT WAS a refreshing change to read "For Heavens Sake" by Geoff Lacey (Letters, 7/10). A sense of humour is a seemingly miraculous change from the outrage proffered as just cause for exemption from equal opportunity legislation and taxation obligations.

To answer Geoff's question (Why a conference?), I refer to a fraction of the documented concerns of most Australians. Religious groups file no income tax returns unless they agree and are exempt from GST, fringe benefits tax (of more than $15,000 per employee), stamp duty, payroll tax, land tax and rate payment. With the Roman Catholic Church being Australia's largest property owner, this is indeed only just.

Except for Israel and Hungary, Australia is the only nation in which religious groups have no obligation to pay any tax on commercial businesses or pay capital gains tax on the sale of assets. When religious groups begin providing financial services, they are free from regulation and compliance rules that are imposed on banks under the Banking Act. Once exempted, their operation is free from review by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

I empathise with Geoff's confusion: Australia is the land of The Great Fair Go, thus clearly doesn't need an atheist convention. Yet human rights, democratic freedom and basic tolerance for all will always find a voice - no matter how "worthless" he finds these quaint ideals. Oh, sorry, "atheist causes".

Paul Gallagher, Hawthorn East [Vic.]

Comments (2)

Sean the Blogonaut said on 09-10-2009
	These were in the paper version ? Any online links

grant said on 09-10-2009
	Hello Sean The Age letters link is here Grant

Write a comment