Broad, noble claims of a right to freedom of religion seem, prima facie, unobjectionable, but, that said, ‘a right which is not recognised by law is nothing but a pious hope’. Allowing people to be discriminated against on the basis of their religious beliefs or practices limits their right to freedom of religion, if indirectly. In any bill of rights that may be introduced, freedom of religion could be included. In my view, however, this would need to be supported by specific and appropriately crafted equal opportunity legislation to afford realistic protection of cultural and religious practices (subject to the constraints of the law generally). Thus, in July 2009 I introduced into the South Australian House of Assembly amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 to ban discrimination on the basis of religion. My effort was unsuccessful, but I think this is a discussion worth continuing.

In this chapter, I discuss the amendments I proposed, and the reasoning behind them. With reference to State and Territory legislation, International Treaties and bills of rights of other countries, I consider how the proposed amendments would protect the freedom to hold, express, declare and practice religious beliefs and values. I then discuss some objections to this proposal. Finally, I discuss how such provisions might relate to a bill of rights, taking account of concerns expressed by some academics and commentators, who believe that a bill of rights is not the best avenue for such protection.