The report, entitled Freedom of Religion in the 21st Century, was prepared for the Australian Human Rights Commission and is based on year-long study of religious freedom in Australia.
After taking more than 2,000 public submissions and consulting with more than 200 religious, secular and community groups, the report found there was a “pressing need” for education about religions to reduce ignorance and fear.
The researchers said some Christians fear the introduction of sharia law in Australia and believe that governments appease Muslim communities by giving Islam preferential treatment.
Some people told the researchers that evangelical Christians demonise Muslims partly because of “high levels of ignorance by churches about Islam”.
It also said some Muslim children see themselves as outsiders because they see their religion vilified at every turn.
“They see how they are viewed as Muslims, which in turn affects how they view themselves,” the report said.
The report’s conclusion said the commission needs to “foster a discussion about the place of religious rights along side other rights”.
It said the commission must allow “for the view to be heard that religious rights are absolute, and then to allow that view to be tempered by other views”.
It urges religious leaders to play a key role in overcoming ignorance about religion in the community.
The report noted that the religious character of Australia was itself a contentious issue, with some suggesting Australia was a Christian nation, others arguing it was a secular country and others suggesting it was a multifaith state.
According to the latest national census of 2006, Christians make up 63.9 percent of the Australian population, followed by Buddhists (2.1 percent), Muslims (1.7 percent), Hindus (0.7 percent) and Jews (0.4 percent). Some 18.7 percent said they had no religion and 11.2 percent did not state a faith.
Source: IslamToday