Re: religion and the state down under

[Bill Mitchell <ecwfm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Bill,
> I agree with your general point.  During the last US census,
> conservative Republicans were discouraging full census responses
> citing privacy concerns, but it seemed to be an effort to reduce
> the documentation of poverty related measures.  However on this
> specific (claiming a Jedi religion), I have to side with the
> rebels.
> Alan

Dear Alan

Perhaps the religious issue doesn't appear in any regressions! But in
Australia, there is a major shift in public spending away from public
(secular) schools towards private schools (which include a range of
religious schools) based on pure ideological preference of the conservative
government. The claim is that this is just reflecting the preferences of
the population towards a more diverse education (including religious
diversity) and is a good thing, despite there being little evidence provided
about the proportions. So I can see this as a potential smokescreen
to be used by conservatives to obfuscate the issue - just how many
people are in these supposed "chosen" religions that deserve public money?
They will say the figures are misleading b/c of these rebels.

all the best
bill