Yes, it'd be much clearer to expand the question to a simple “Does the person have a religion?” before asking which one.
“[Michael Dove, chair of the Census21 Group, told Crikey that] the current question on the [#AustralianCensus, “What is the person's religion?”] leads many people to talk about their cultural background rather than what religion they align with.
“It was in the interests of bishops and the church that the “cultural Catholics get counted so the Catholic Church can overstate its relevance, and continue to enjoy the privileged funding, policy, and media access benefits”, he said.
““There’s an awful lot of religious privilege that flows from the census stage and that needs to be changed.””
If you wanted to write today about vested interests, about the groups (and their networks) that are preventing governments from pursuing the reforms needed for Australia's economy to flourish, you'd have different targets.
"The gunman, 63, shot Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, on Friday at their Floreat home, where his ex-wife was believed to have been staying, before taking his own life."
Lazing on a Sunday afternoon… would be lovely, but I’ve been out pounding the pavements for another 5km in my #TheMay50K run. And I’ve only got 5 more days to go to raise funds, so go read the latest blog post and DONATE TODAY! #MultipleSclerosis#Australia#KissGoodbyeToMS
The culture of 'dropping in' has withered away in Australian cities in particular. Even before the pandemic it had waned, but the pandemic has really reinforced habits of social isolation.
How can we revive this act of friendship AND be considerate of the person we are dropping in on?
One thing I think is important is to first ask people if they are free for a visit. #SocialIsolation#Australia
#Parkrun done, AND I hit 100km down for #TheMay50K... but I'm not done yet. Read the latest blog update as I sweat through the final week of fundraising for #MS and DONATE TODAY!!!