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• Religion

Exploring the implications of a liberal understanding of freedom for religion in civil society, and analysing religion as a form of social capital in the public sphere. Recent research focuses on anti-Semitism and religious hatred, along with broader questions as to the meaning and value of religion in Australia.

Rights, Morals, Dignity: Why defending religious freedom matters
Peter KurtiApril 10, 2020OP173

Calls for protections of rights are often made without much reflection on what it is,...

Amid this pestilence, listen to Easter’s revolutionary message
Robert ForsythApril 8, 2020Australian Financial Review

Easter and the coronavirus have at least one thing in common. Both are in their...

Religious liberty under pressure
Doug BandowFebruary 14, 2020ideas@theCentre

There is no more fundamental liberty than the right to respond to one’s creator. Belief...

Christmas is a moment to tune into the needs of our neighbours
Peter KurtiDecember 20, 2019Financial Review

Many were alarmed this month when it seemed the Christmas-hating Grinch had arrived early –...

Respect and Division: How Australians view religion
Monica WilkieDecember 6, 2019ideas@theCentre

Australians’ famously tolerant attitude toward religion endures. But this view has a clear blind spot...

Religious schools
Respect and division: How Australians view religion
Monica Wilkie, Robert ForsythDecember 2, 2019PP27

Religious tolerance is vital for a well-functioning secular democracy. The ability to tolerate even undesirable...

Reframing an Ancient Hatred: the intersection of left-wing antisemitism and anti-Zionism
Julie ClaridgeDecember 11, 2025AP97
Anti-Zionism has evolved to create a further mutation of antisemitism, cloaking bias and discrimination in...
The ties that bind. Reconciling value pluralism and national identity
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025AP81

Executive summary Australia’s multicultural democracy is under increasing pressure, not only from economic uncertainty but...

The Darkest Path: The Puzzling Resilience of Antisemitism. Acton Lecture 2025
Rabbi Benjamin EltonMarch 19, 2025OP206

Foreword The annual Acton Lecture, presented by the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program at...

Fractured Loyalties. Australian citizenship and the crisis of civic virtue
Peter KurtiMarch 6, 2025AP79

Can citizenship survive the end of tolerance? One of the principal tenets of a secular...

Interest, Usury and the Common Good
Ian Harper, Peter KurtiFebruary 20, 2025OP205

Introduction: Is there a problem with interest? Making money out of lending money has generated...

ap47 free speech
Free to Speak and Free to Believe? What Australians think about freedom of speech
Peter Kurti, Scott PrasserApril 20, 2023AP47

To what extent do Australians think speech is free in this country? According to polling...

It is time for good people to act 
Julie ClaridgeDecember 24, 2025ONLINE OPINION
What we saw that Sunday at Bondi not only highlighted the immediate and palpable threats...
Australia’s complacency and the Bondi beach shooting
Peter KurtiDecember 15, 2025WALL STREET JOURNAL
Whether Australia responds to the murders at Bondi with clarity or caution will reveal not...
Hanson’s burqa antics dodges hard questions on multiculturalism
Peter KurtiNovember 27, 2025AFR

Eight years after her first burqa stunt, Pauline Hanson pulled it out of the wardrobe...

Tolerance ends where darkest hatred begins
Peter KurtiNovember 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tolerance is often treated as an unqualified virtue. But even virtues have limits. When men...

Back the plan and save Australia from hatred
Peter KurtiJuly 14, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
Our Jewish neighbours, colleagues and friends are facing harassment, threats and exclusion in ways this...
When hatred finds a home in our institutions
Peter KurtiJune 12, 2025SPECTATOR

I recently watched the documentary October 8, a searing and distressing film about the aftermath...

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