The University of Western Sydney’s Religion and Society Research Centre invites you to attend a Public Lecture:
“The Fourth R: What is the place of religion in Australia’s ‘free, compulsory and secular’ schools?â€
Speaker: Prof Marion Maddox, Macquarie University
Date: Tuesday, 07 October 2014
Time: 1:30 am – 3:30 pm
Venue: Bankstown Campus, Building 1, Room 1.117
RSVP to j.fishman by Wednesday, 01 October 2014 (for catering purposes)
Abstract
By 1880, all Australian colonies had passed legislation guaranteeing their children ‘secular’ education and ending all public funding to religious schools.
Today, fewer Australians attend church or identify with a religion. However, more than one-third of Australian students attend private schools, over 90% of which are Christian, and which receive ever-increasing government funding. Meanwhile, religious activities in public schools take numerous forms.
How should schools in multicultural, multifaith Australia handle the "Fourth R"?
Marion Maddox is a Professor of Politics and ARC Future Fellow at Macquarie University. Her books include God Under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australian Politics (2005) and Taking God to School: The End of Australia’s Egalitarian Education? (2014).