On Mon, 23 Jan 1995, James A. Donald wrote:
Church of England in Australia was, and I believe still is, government funded by the Australian government.
As are many other schools of various religious persuasions. So?
Furthermore when my kids went to government school in NSW, Australia, they were taught Church of England religion by my neighbor, Mrs Law, in school, in the classroom.
It's not compulsory - as an avowed atheist I always avoided them.
If it quacks like a duck ...
Not necessarily... If they fund one school, they can hardly refuse to fund others.
I was unaware of the portion of the constitution that you mention.
Obviously - it's handy having an on-line copy of the Australian Constitution. Anyone want a copy? I don't run an FTP site.
I suspect that the government and the church are none to clear on it either.
You might be amused to know that our Governor-General (the "Queen's Man") is himself an avowed atheist - is it likely he would have been appointed by a pro-religious government? -- Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) | dave@esi.com.au | VK2KFU @ VK2AAB.NSW.AUS.OC | PGP 2.6 Opinions expressed are mine. | E7 FE 97 88 E5 02 3C AE 9C 8C 54 5B 9A D4 A0 CD