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Award-winning journalist Dr Rachael Kohn, speaking at the 2024 Australian Federal Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast, highlighted the importance of religion in fostering democracy and urged Australians to work together for the common good.
The annual event was co-hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Speaker of the House Milton Dick MP in Canberra on 21 November.
It brought together more than 200 attendees including parliamentarians and faith leaders.
Kohn highlighted the risks of ignoring religion’s contributions to society.
Australian democracy relied on acknowledging the contributions of religion and history, not “distorting the past and pouring contempt on our faith traditions” she said.
Criticising what she called the “Vanguard of the New”, Kohn noted that misrepresenting the past undermines the values underpinning democratic progress.
“The Vanguard of the New presents our history as a litany of failure, denies every virtue that our forebears upheld and rubbishes every step of progress that they laboured to achieve in the most adverse circumstances.”
Mission to foster harmony
Drawing from her family’s experiences of Nazism and Communism in Czechoslovakia, Kohn described how their suffering shaped her rejection of totalitarian ideologies.
She now advocates for religion’s positive role in promoting dignity, community and shared purpose.
She cited St Mary MacKillop’s example of collaboration across faiths, noting how a Jewish businessman provided shelter for MacKillop’s school during her temporary excommunication. Such stories, she argued, reflect religion’s ability to unite people in shared values.
Vice-Chancellor of ACU, Professor Zlatko Skrbis, praised Kohn’s speech saying it echoed the interfaith breakfast’s mission to foster harmony.
“For a decade, this event has brought together people of diverse faiths and backgrounds to engage in dialogue, prayer and reflection” he said.
Kohn produced and presented more than 1,700 programmes in her career, during which she interviewed thousands of respected religious leaders. Her guests included Archbishops, Chief Rabbis, the Dalai Lama and local clerics.
She also spoke with imams, laypeople, professionals and scholars. Additionally, she highlighted “unsung heroes” who discovered a greater purpose through their faith.
In the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Kohn was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to the broadcast media – particularly radio, as a creator, producer and presenter, and to Jewish studies”.
Sources
Australian Catholic University
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