One of the underlying and critical components of social cohesion in any country, not least Australia as a civil society, is, firstly, religion’s contribution to social wealth (core values, schools, hospitals, care of the poor etc) and, secondly, to social cohesion, interreligious harmony and multicultural solidarity. The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal to establish, for nation-building purposes, a Multifaith Council for Australia whereby religious leaders and their faith communities are coordinated to advise and work with the Australian and other governments and the various other business, community and social sectors to collectively continue to build social cohesion, interreligious harmony and intercommunal solidarity.
It is proposed to establish a Multifaith Council for Australia with dedicated representation from Australia’s First Peoples, the 15 largest religious, interfaith and humanist communities and each State/Territory if they so wish, supplemented by an Australian Moral and Policy Forum to give voice to the remainder of the 147 recognized religious denominations contained on the Marriage Celebrants List for the purposes of section 26 of the Marriage Act 1961 and held by the Commonwealth Attorney-General.
In the spirit of national cooperation and joint collaborative action, this document is directed to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition and their political parties. This proposal has resulted from many discussions between Religions for Peace Australia (religionsforpeace australia.org.au), the national chapter of the world’s largest interfaith organization, led by Emeritus Professor Desmond Cahill OAM and other religious leaders with the support of Dr. Hass Dellal AO of the Australian Multicultural Foundation (amf.net.au).
Australia is one of the most successful multicultural and multifaith countries in the world with a high level of peacefulness and social cohesion, ranked equal 16th together with Japan and Slovenia and behind countries such as Norway (1), Iceland (2), New Zealand (9) and Canada (12) on the latest Positive Peace Index of the Australian Institute for Economics and Peace.
Core values representing Australia’s Basic Structures and Principles based on and expanding the Commonwealth Government’s 1989 bipartisan National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia lie at the base of national social cohesion:
- A unifying and overriding commitment to Australia, its interests and its future, including to its First Peoples
- Adherence to the Australian and State constitutions, to parliamentary democracy and its institutions and to compulsory voting
- The rule of law with an independent judiciary and impartial and competent police forces
- English as the national language unifying the nation, and the right of all Australians to share their languages and cultures
- Freedom of speech and association, and mutual respect for all with the equality of all genders
- Freedom of religion with a moderate model of the separation of religion and state
- Acceptance, tolerance, prosperity and equitable sharing of the nation’s resources
- A fair go for all with equality of opportunity, compassion for all and good health for all
- Commitment to and preservation of the land and the environment with its beauty to be enjoyed by all and its productiveness to be shared in Australia and globally
