Legal Issue - Churches And Integration - Assessment Answer

Assignment Task

Select ONE of the following Legal Issues Only:

• Small Business and working with the Australian Consumer Law;
• Not for Profits and integration of Employment Law Policies and Practices; or
• Churches and integration of secular Legal practices in church ministry,

Introduction

Secular practices in our context refer to activities that are human centred as opposed to God-centred. Then, there is always that controversy that there are a lot of good things happens, although they do not originate from the Church. But you can always distinguish if it belongs to the Church or not. In Luke 9:50 (King James Version), Jesus teaches his disciples that it does not matter where one gets the power to cast out demons. For so long as it is for the good and glory of God, he belongs to them.

Issues concerning the Church and the influence of the secular world on the Church have become debatable topics in modern times. It began with the separation of the state from the Church then re-introduction of state elements into the Church. State practices such as promotion of healthy populations through church-oriented concepts and understandings have left the Church in a difficult position trying to distinguish what is secular from what is evil. Some of these legal campaigns have left churches in serious divided opinions. All the same, they are the typical challenges of the modern day church.

Literature review

The Church and the State have had a long history of a tight relationship and interdependency in many nations across the world. In Australia, similar to many other countries, secular legal practices are slowly permeating into the Church. According to the Bible (Matthew 5:13-16 King James Version), the Church should influence the world by “illuminating and giving the world a sense of taste”. In essence, this means that the church should be setting the stands by which the state ought to bow. But what we see in Australia today is quite different ("A Review of The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity", 2016). Claims of churches avoiding politically controversial preachings are not strange anymore. Liesching (2013) has contended that political leaders are increasingly trying to gain influence over the masses through the Church. It has been observed over the years that the Church is slowly blending in with secularism (Cottrell, n.d.).

However, some theologists are of different opinions ("Erratum", 2015). There are areas that the Church and the state will never agree on. Issues such as those presented by the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA) create a basis for divergent opinions between secularists and the Church. For example, the act provides that no one shall be biased against on the basis of sex. Although many people may seem sceptical of restoring the hope of the Church, others, such as Stone (2009) are of the opinion that the Church is still intact. However, it is the general opinion of most authors that the law should not demand what the people believe in (Laws, 2010; Edge, 2013).

Australia legislation

Religion, and hence the Church, are described in Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia. The legislation disallows the Commonwealth to make laws for “establishing any religion” or imposing religious observance” (Australian Constitution s 116). It also disallows the Commonwealth to make any law that would require a religious test as a requisite for holding public office or trust.

Case law precedents

Adelaide Co of Jehovah's Witnesses Inc v. Commonwealth (1943) – The High Court ruled that laws that allowed government funding to institutions that allowed the dissolution of a branch of Jehovah's Witnesses were in contravention of the Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia.

Krygger v. Williams – In this case, the court was of the opinion that a person could not refuse to join the military due to religious teachings against war.

Critical evaluation of practices within legal framework

Balancing religion and legal matters are usually a very difficult feat (Witte, 2012). In fact, it is not expected that at some point any nation can achieve an agreeable legal environment in the church. Furthermore, the legislation governing secularism and the Church are not very well established (Sandberg, 2011). In fact, the ruling on Adelaide Co of Jehovah's Witnesses Inc v. The commonwealth was the second time Section 116 was ever referred to after Kruger v. Williams (1912). From these facts we can see that setting, even imaginary boundaries between the World and the Church is virtually impractical. This section of the Constitution of Australia is thought of being narrow and easily interpreted directly such that many experts are of the opinion that it has had little historical importance to the Constitution (Aroney, 2009).

Conclusion

From the discussions, we can conclude that the secular legal practices in the church have increased their influence over traditional church beliefs. Much of this has been contributed by the relevant legislation which has left the interpretation of religious beliefs and practices to personal conviction. The current laws in the Constitution of Australia do not have hard-line stands on what should be done or not done specifically to religious groups or institutions leaving secularism to have its way into the church. In other nations, such as Italy, there are very wide legislations on religion that limit the extent of secularism in church.