Australia's Labor opposition has pledged to pass legislation outlawing religious vilification if it wins national elections next month.
Such a move would expand nationwide the type of controversial law already in place in one Australian state. Critics say that law has been abused to target Christians.
Under the state of Victoria's three-year-old Racial and Religious Tolerance Act of 2001, Muslims have taken Christian pastors before a legal tribunal accusing them of vilifying Islam. Pagans also have taken action under the law against Christians who were publicly critical of witchcraft.
Now the Labor Party has signaled that it would introduce racial and religious vilification legislation for the whole country if it forms the next government after elections on Oct. 9.
At a recent conference in Canberra, Labor shadow attorney-general Nicola Roxon told a largely Christian audience that her party was "committed to introducing religious and racial anti-vilification laws."
Although Roxon presented the proposal as "something that will protect and promote the right of religious freedom," some Christians worry that it could instead inhibit their ability to critically examine other faiths.
Bill Muehlenberg of the Australian Family Association said Wednesday all Australians should be concerned by the Labor proposal.
"Such laws are really anti-freedom of speech laws, and more specifically, are anti-Christian laws," he said. "They are meant to enforce political correctness and a stifling religious uniformity of the lowest common denominator."
Muehlenberg felt Christians should be especially concerned.
"Legislation like this on a state level has already been used as a hammer to silence believers," he said, referring to the Victoria situation.
The laws were unnecessary and should be fully rejected.
A Christian ethics organization, Salt Shakers, worries that Labor may in addition be planning to restrict speech critical of homosexuality.
It pointed to a Labor election platform pledge to "ensure that gay and lesbian Australians are given legal protection from discrimination, harassment and vilification."
In a Senate speech last month, a senior Labor lawmaker declared that once in government "Labor will immediately introduce anti-discrimination laws based on sexuality and introduce protection from harassment and vilification."
Salt Shakers executive director Peter Stokes said the proposals would impose on Australia "the sort of thought and speech legislation currently the domain of communist countries like China and North Korea."
The detrimental effects of such legislation had already been seen in Victoria, he said.
"This does not seem to be troubling left-wing elements of federal Labor who appear committed to restrict our freedom of speech in an attempt to placate various religious and sexual minorities."
Stokes said simply having an objection to or speaking against another religion, lifestyle, race or minority group could nowadays be construed as "hatred."
'Inhibiting free discussion'
Peter Costello, Australia's federal Treasurer and a senior politician considered a likely future successor to Prime Minister John Howard, took issue earlier this year with the idea of religious vilification laws.
"I think religious leaders should be free to express their doctrines and their comparative view of other doctrines," he said in a speech. "Differing views on religion should not be resolved through civil lawsuits."
Costello said he had opposed previous move to introduce racial vilification laws, on the grounds that they "would inhibit free discussion of important political issues."
He also pointed to the situation in Victoria.
"If rival camps start sending informants to rival meetings so they can take legal proceedings against each other in publicly-funded tribunals we shall not enhance our openness or tolerance," he said.
Costello was referring specifically to a complaint brought by the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) against two Christian pastors, Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot, accused of vilifying Islam at a seminar in March 2002.
The two, both of whom have first-hand experience of Islamic societies, discussed for a Christian audience matters relating to the Koran, Islamic teachings and behavior.
The ICV asked three Muslims to Islam to attend the seminar and after they reported back, the organization lodged a complaint against the pastors under the state's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.
Nalliah and Scot were taken before a tribunal to face allegations of inciting "hatred against, serious contempt for, or revulsion or severe ridicule" of Islam. The case has dragged on for more than two years, and is awaiting a judge's final decision.
Nalliah is now standing as a candidate for the Senate on behalf of a Christian-based party, Family First.
He said Wednesday the party would spearhead opposition to any attempt to introduce national religious vilification laws.
"My biggest concern is that this would be a law that is not going to unite Australians. It's going to divide Australians because it protects minority rights, whereas the majority - and I would say Caucasian Christians are the majority in the land - there's nothing to protect them."
Nalliah was present at the Canberra conference at which Labor's Roxon had announced the party's plan to enact anti-vilification legislation.
He recalled that the overwhelmingly Christian audience had responded strongly, booing and heckling - clearly surprising Roxon, who had depicted the policy as one of benefit to people of faith.
Many in the audience were aware of the Nalliah-Scot case, however, and were wary of any move to extend across the country a law that could evidently be so easily abused to stifle free speech, he said.
Meanwhile, legislation has been proposed in Britain to "ban incitement to religious hatred," and Christians there, too, are concerned about the implications.