God Forbid

Our species has plenty of experience with death, but in many families the topic remains taboo.

From hymns and oaths to the eternal flame - the Olympic Games are full of religious symbolism. Ever since the ancient Games in Olympia, ritual and moral virtues have played a part. 

Can religion provide a pathway for a better tomorrow? Can it aid us in bringing peace where everything else seems to have failed?

Could kindness be an act of defiance or resistance?

Over the COVID years, the Diversity Council Australia found one in two Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people experienced at least one incident of racial harassment or discrimination at work. Other studies have found racism to be a deeply set feature of our society.  

Today, 8 billion of us share this remarkable planet.  Yet there are declines in fertility rates across the globe. Demographers say this is more the rule than the exception. What's causing this decline, and can we do anything about it? And what about the planet? Where does it fit into this population debate?   

How is it that the physical brain can give rise to our subjective, intangible conscious experience? Why and how are we aware of being aware? It remains one of the great philosophical and scientific questions, and our God Forbid panel are here to discuss it.

More than half of Australians believe in life after death. Some even believe we can communicate with the dead.  In the nineteenth century, the Spiritualist movement claimed to speak with the dead through mediums and seances.This  American movement attracted many women; and at a time when they had few rights, Spiritualism gave women a voice as mediums who could take messages from the dead to the living. It used to have followers in the millions,  though the escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini insisted they were frauds – and he lobbied the US Congress to ban the practice.So what made it so controversial and influential? And why do we remain intrigued by what happens – if anything - after we die? 

Freud said humans are instinctively aggressive, and as a result, war is inevitable.  But could peace be inevitable too?Today, there are more than 100 armed conflicts of one kind or another taking place around the world. In the first decade of this century – war killed around 20,000 people a year.  It’s now ten times that number,  and it’s happening around the world – it’s not just because of Gaza and Ukraine.  How do we make peace amid our instinct for war? And what can Australia do to dial down tensions? 

Many of us regard our pets as part of the family,  but can an animal be its best self in a human home?  For much of human history, we’ve kept animals primarily to do jobs – to hunt, herd, plough and pull carriages... or just to keep mice out of the hay shed.The idea of keeping an animal as a "pet” - an emotional companion is relatively new.  And religion, it turns out, played a part in that historical shift.Of course, pets can enrich our lives, but how we breed, feed and keep these animals raises questions even for the most loving, well-meaning pet owners. It's a passionate issue, full of blurry lines and moral grey areas. But philosophy, religion and science offer some guidance.