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Seventy-four Acts passed by of parliaments. Twenty-five years. Almost half enacted in the last five years. This isn’t coincidence — it’s a pattern. And it’s eroding Christian freedom in Australia.

Over the past year, I’ve written on a wide range of issues:

• Labor’s proposed ‘Misinformation Bill’.
• Hate speech laws.
• Social media restrictions.
• Digital ID.
• Parental choice in education.
• The rights of faith-based schools.
• The push to restore biological reality to our laws.

…to name just a few.

At first glance, these issues may not appear to have much in common. They arise in different parliaments and generate different headlines.

Each can be debated on its own merits.

Each can also be dismissed as simply another political issue.

But what happens when we stop looking at individual cases and instead step back to look at the bigger picture?

That, to my mind, is one of the greatest strengths of the Australian Christian Freedom Index — an important report recently sponsored by AFC.

Rather than merely documenting isolated incidents, it examines long-term trends.

It asks a simple but important question:

What has actually happened to Christian freedom in Australia over the past quarter of a century?

74 Acts. 25 years.

One finding in particular struck me.

The report identifies 74 Acts passed by Australian parliaments over the last 25 years that have narrowed Christian freedom.

Almost half of those Acts have been enacted in just the last five years.

Think about that for a moment.

We’re not talking about one controversial bill.

We’re not talking about one activist court decision.

We’re not even talking about one particularly bad government.

We’re talking about an accumulation of legislation over twenty-five years.

Each law may have appeared tolerable when viewed in isolation.

Some may have claimed broad public support. Others purported to address genuine concerns.

Still others attracted almost no public attention at all.

One Pattern

Yet when viewed together, a clear pattern emerges.

Freedom rarely disappears overnight. More often, it recedes quietly — one amendment, one regulation, one court decision, one Act of parliament at a time.

I suspect that’s why so many Australians have had the uneasy feeling that “something is changing”, even if they struggled to articulate exactly what it was.

The Australian Christian Freedom Index helps explain why — at least from a legislative perspective.

Now, some people may wonder whether this matters beyond the Christian community.

It’s a fair question. The report is, after all, about Christian freedom as its title plainly states.

But it would be a mistake to think its significance ends there.

Many of the freedoms examined throughout the report are freedoms that should concern every Australian:

• Freedom of speech.
• Freedom of association.
• Freedom of conscience.
• Parental choice in education.
• The ability of schools, charities and community organisations to remain true to their founding purpose and ethos.
• Freedom to participate in public life without being compelled to abandon deeply held beliefs.

These are not merely Christian concerns.

They are the hallmarks of a healthy, democratic society.

Loss for One Is a Loss for All

History shows that when freedoms are narrowed for one section of society, the implications rarely stop there.

That’s why the issues examined throughout this report deserve the attention of every Australian — not just Christians.

Fortunately, the Australian Christian Freedom Index doesn’t simply document problems.

Alongside its analysis of those 74 Acts, the report concludes with 42 recommendations aimed at strengthening freedom in Australia.

Some of those recommendations relate specifically to Christian freedom and the ability of Christians and their institutions to contribute fully to Australian public life.

Others would strengthen freedoms enjoyed by all Australians, regardless of faith.

Taken together, they provide something that has been missing from these discussions for far too long.

Not simply a diagnosis, but a roadmap.

Whether every recommendation is ultimately adopted is another matter.

But every significant reform begins with ideas being clearly articulated, carefully argued, and persistently advanced.

In that respect, I believe the Australian Christian Freedom Index marks an important beginning.

Australia now has something it has never previously had: a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of what has happened to our freedoms over time, together with constructive proposals for preserving and strengthening them into the future.

I believe this report will become an important reference point for many years to come.

If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to download a copy and keep it for future reference here.

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Republished with thanks to the Australian Family Coalition.

Image via Adobe.