Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

The shifting Christian right discourse on religious freedom in Australia

Angus McLeay, Elenie Poulos, Louise Richardson-Self

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

161 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Political debates over religious freedom in Australia became prominent in the context of marriage equality, achieved in 2017. The Australian Christian Right (ACR) has driven these debates, but there is little research focusing on its discourse of religious freedom. This article examines a range of texts from ACR actors. Using discourse and theoretical analyses, we identify three key turns in the religious freedom rhetoric of the ACR: “ontological security,” “existential stress,” and “meaning vertigo.” We also explore how mimetic ACR discourse is compared to the United States' Christian Right (USCR). As with the USCR, this research demonstrates how the ACR—suffering meaning vertigo and aiming to re-secure its previously taken-for-granted worldview—has successfully reframed the discourse of religious freedom by positioning itself as a besieged minority.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)197-218
Number of pages22
JournalPolitics and Religion
Volume16
Issue number2
Early online date14 Mar 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • Christian right
  • discrimination
  • LGBT+ rights
  • religious discourse
  • religious freedom

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The shifting Christian right discourse on religious freedom in Australia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this