It’s time we stand up against the growing persecution of Christians in Australia

As noted by Dr. Kevin Donnelly, a senior fellow at the Australian Catholic University, the hostility to Christianity in Australia is deeply pervasive not only in our schools and universities, but also in the mainstream media, where, according to him, "most commentators are cultural-left and more concerned about identity politics and politically correct victimhood than the plight of Christians."

This growing intolerance of Christians in Australia has spurred lawyers and groups such as the Australian Christian Lobby and the Human Rights Law Alliance to put together a conference on religious freedom that will be held in the city of Perth, Western Australia, for June 14-15, 2019.

The 'Religious Freedom at the Crossroads: The Rise of Anti-Christian Sentiment in Australia' conference will be the first event of its kind in Australia, bringing together some the country's finest legal minds. Conference proceedings will be published in The Western Australian Jurist law journal, the yearly blind peer-reviewed academic publication of the Western Australian Legal Theory Association (WALTA).

The list of conference speakers is undoubtedly impressive. One of our speakers, Martyn Iles, is Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, one of Australia's largest lobby groups, desiring a more compassionate society through having the public contributions of the Christian faith reflected in the political life of the nation.

Mr Iles is formerly the founding Director of the Human Rights Law Alliance, an organisation that protects religious freedom through legal advocacy. The Alliance's new managing director, John Steenhof, is also a speaker for the conference. This is the first human-rights organisation of its kind in Australia and has recently been involved in dozens of cases where individuals or organisations were legally challenged for living out their religious convictions.

Participating as moderator is John Gilmor QC, a renowned barrister and former Australian federal judge. Some of the most distinguished members, both past and present, of the Western Australian Parliament, including former speaker Michael Sutherland, are also moderators for this deeply significant event.

Our keynote speaker is none other than a leading American constitutional lawyer-the Distinguished Professor Emeritus William Wagner of Western Michigan University, Thomas Cooley Law School. His public service includes serving as a Federal judge in the United States Courts, legal counsel in the U.S. Senate, senior assistant United States attorney in the Department of Justice, and as an American diplomat.

Anyone interested in the protection of human rights for all should definitely consider attending this timely and important conference. It might seem counterintuitive that Christians are facing persecution in a country like Australia, but there are no geographical limitations when it comes to hate of Christians.

It is time we stand up for free speech and freedom of association, thus rejecting all violence and persecution of Christians because of their religious faith and beliefs. It's time to uphold the principle of religious freedom, ensuring that it also applies to Christians.