The Future of Religious Freedom in Australian Schools

Abstract

This article explores the place of religion within Australian primary and secondary education. It is divided into three parts. The first examines religion within the Australian legal and constitutional structure. The second considers the accommodation of religion in government (public or state) and nongovernment (private) schools, using the State of South Australia as a representative example. The overarching question addressed in the third part is twofold: (1) Does religion find a place in Australia's schools, both government and nongovernment? (2) To the extent that it does, are there current legal threats to that place—in other words, to the freedom of religious faith in schools? The final section offers some brief concluding observations about the place of religion in Australian life generally, suggesting that there may still be some judicial support for the place of religion in the public sphere, which may auger well for its future in Australian education.