Religion and politics – the 2 topics that apparently don’t mix
at a dinner party, or at least in Australian politics, according
to former WA premier Carmen Lawrence. Bouncing off the
predictable example of infidelity by Governor Sanford (a
Christian Republican) from South Carolina, Lawrence had this to
say about religion in politics in The Age:  ….Australian
politicians, unlike their American counterparts, have worn their
religious beliefs lightly, eschewing ostentatious displays of
their faith or the use of religious precepts to justify or shape
their policy positions. While religion has not been entirely
absent from Australian political debate (it did, after all lead
to a split in the ALP), by and large politicians have preferred
to justify their values and decisions by reference to their
political philosophies, rather than their religious beliefs.
Australians, in any case, seem wary of appeals to religious
authority; research shows they are increasingly unlikely to
claim Christian religious affiliation or