The Religion and Ethics Report - Full program podcast

Tensions emerged during this weeks' national Plenary Council as bishops overruled the people's votes. At one point the bishops rejected women-in-leadership motions, including ordination to diaconate. Women's leadership was only one contentious issue. A special program recorded at the second assembly of the Plenary Council.

What does the rise of 'no religion' mean for Australia's legal system and society? Plus, a look at the Christian right's sway on the US Supreme Court. And, Archbishop Mark Coleridge discusses the long-awaited second Catholic Plenary.

Why is the man who assassinated Gandhi — Nathuram Godse — becoming a celebrated figure amongst some in India today? Plus, religion, identity and extremism in South Asia today.

Sheryl Sandberg has resigned as Chief Operating Officer of Meta, the company that brought us Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. She, along with Mark Zuckerberg have connected us in ways previously unimagined. But it's also opened a Pandora's box of issues including privacy, political meddling and fake news. What does this all mean for us? With professor of history and philosophy Justin E.H. Smith.

Once again, a church is being rocked by allegations of sexual abuse — this time, it's the powerful American Southern Baptists. Hundreds of cases of abuse that have now lasted for decades, and a shocking cover up at the highest echelons of the church organisation. Veteran religion writer Bob Smietana has been closely following the controversy.

Today, a special edition of the program marking Reconciliation Week. Stan Grant moderated a discussion, bringing together different people to discuss faith, and how that can bring about reconciliation in Australia.

In the federal election, Australians deserted Liberal and Labor in droves. Labor won, but the big winners here were the others, especially the Independents. Dai Le is one of them, winning the seat of Fowler in Sydney's religiously and culturally diverse west.

The tension in the Anglican church goes deeper than the same-sex marriage divide; former PM Kevin Rudd speaks to us about religious discrimination, his personal faith and the challenge faith presents in China; and there's an old saying that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" — but is that true?

Should the sins of the past be visited upon us? The Abrahamic faiths talk about guilt, atonement and redemption. Indigenous Australians have long called for truth-telling, a reckoning with our past as a way to justice and healing. But collective guilt today is a hot button topic — is the idea a helpful or harmful one? Peter Kurti from the Centre for Independent Studies explores this in his recent paper.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the man likely to become the next president of the Philippines when the nation goes to the polls on May 9. His father Ferdinand Marcos was a dictator and kleptocrat who held a grip on power for two decades between 1965 and 1986. How has fake news and disinformation been influencing this election and the likely return of power for the Marcos family? With Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa.

This week Australians have commemorated Anzac Day, again remembering the sacrifice of those in war. But is it more than that? What began in Gallipoli in World War One has now become sacred, as Dr Michael Gladwin explains.

With the 2022 election campaign now under way, we check in with one of Australia’s top experts, Professor Andrew Singleton, on religious voting trends.

Across the Middle East, millions of Christians have fled their ancient homelands, especially since the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003. Most have not returned — and probably never will. Renowned journalist Janine di Giovanni documents their plight.

Vladimir Putin is not just involved in a violent land grab. He believes he's fighting his own holy war to restore the ancient territory of the 'Holy Rus,' with the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as the 'Third Rome.'

An astonishing 85 per cent of Australian companies are not complying with national laws against modern slavery according to a recent report, and more.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is fighting to retain power after a vote of no confidence in the parliament. He’s blamed a foreign conspiracy – the United States in particular – for trying to thwart his independent foreign policy. Professor Samina Yasmeen has been watching this alleged conspiracy unfold.

Why are Muslims from the Russian republic of Chechnya fighting on both sides in Ukraine? Plus, the founder of the Hillsong megachurch empire Brian Houston has had a dramatic fall — just how significant is this for the Pentecostal faith?

Would the simplest way to end a war that Putin started be to assassinate him? It's a shocking proposition but the concept of tyrannicide goes back to ancient philosophy. Also, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman styles himself as a modernizer — but modernisation doesn't necessarily mean democracy and human rights.

Anglicare calls for major changes to support low income Australians; Ukraine's controversial surrogacy business has been disrupted by Russia's invasion; and during extreme weather variations, Argentina's former environment minister calls for an economy that works in harmony with nature.

In a sign of growing dissent inside the Russian Orthodox Church, almost 300 priests have signed a statement condemning Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. And Pope Francis has not only condemned the bloodshed but offered the Vatican as an intermediary. Also, President Putin's idea of the Russian Orthodox faith as a global political force has a lot in common with the Islamic concept of the Ummah.