John Steenhof, (pictured) who heads the Human Rights Law Alliance, said that in Mr Folau's case the footballer had posted material online, had a code of conduct and his club could point to a "nebulous contractual breach".

"In this case Andrew Thorburn has said nothing. Nothing. In fact, as chairman at National Australia Bank his actions were to promote diversity," Mr Steenhof said.

"There's nothing in his conduct that would suggest he's hateful and bigoted."

Mr Steenhof thinks Mr Thorburn would have a "clear claim" under Victorian discrimination law but would likely "take some time to make a decision" about going to court.

"This area of law's largely untrammeled when it comes to religious belief and activity. It's going to be a really interesting test case," Mr Steenhof said.

Unfortunately, he added, "the real human cost of these things is often lost".

"We get to see it in our work. It doesn't matter who you are, and how bulletproof you are, how many commissions of inquiry you've been in front of. When you get the cultural microscope on you it's unrelenting.

"It's terrible for you, your wife, your children, your wider family, and your friends."

Mr Steenhof said that Christians needed to understand we are moving from "a confident pluralism into a very aggressive hard secularism".

"There are still people in church who think as long as we're winsome and nice and start using the same language, they'll allow us to have our views that are unfashionable," he said.

"Thorburn's case shows us that's not the case. We need to change our mindset."

In Victoria, he added, "things are getting worse in this regard". Around 40 per cent of inquiries made to HRLA about religious discrimination issues came from Victoria, Mr Steenhof said.

"Most of the people who contact us to talk about the hostility they're facing in their workplaces, from their employers, in the public service, are people in Victoria."

Many Christians who contacted HRLA were concerned about how they could refrain from participation in gender and sexuality-related events in the workplace without losing their jobs.

Most inquiries to HRLA are settled before actually ending up in court, making high-profile cases like Thorburn's potentially important to set precedents.

Mr Steenhof also said that an increasing number of inquiries to HRLA came from Christians who could be described as liberal, progressive or "revisionist" rather than conservative.

Despite City on a Hill's depiction in the media as "fundamentalist", Mr Steenhof says the Thorburn case is an example of how progressive Christians can fall foul of public opinion.

"Andrew Thorburn I'd put in the former. He's a guy who hasn't said anything, and under his watch [at NAB] promulgated LGBTQ initiatives which were in the spirit of diversity, inclusion, tolerance. That's going to happen more often."

Freedom for Faith, a prominent Christian legal think tank, said Australians should be "deeply shocked" at the Thorburn case.

City on a Hill's teachings "are not ‘extreme'," Freedom for Faith chair Anglican Bishop Michael Stead said in a press release.

"They are mainstream beliefs which have been held for centuries by a wide variety of faith groups, including Christians, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs, and certainly in relation to abortion are also held as moral views by many non-religious Australians."

"The freedom to hold and express a religious belief is a foundational human right, which Australia has committed to as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

"Article 18 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to hold a religious belief and to manifest that in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

"It further guarantees that ‘no one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice'.

"It appears that Andrew Thorburn has been subject to coercion to resign because of his religious belief."

Bishop Stead said the behaviour of the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, was "very disturbing", and renewed calls for a federal Religious Discrimination Bill.

"Freedom for Faith calls on the Albanese government to fulfil its election promise to implement a federal Religious Discrimination Bill as a matter of urgency, and to do this in such a way as to protect all Australian citizens from the kinds of religious discrimination, vilification and coercion that Andrew Thorburn has experienced," he said.

• Adam Wesselinoff is a postgraduate theology student and journalist for the Catholic Weekly.
• First published in the Catholic Weekly. Republished with permission.

The sermons likened abortion to concentration camps and included claims that "practising homosexuality is a sin" - views which Victoria's premier, Daniel Andrews, said were "absolutely appalling", "bigotry" and "intolerant".

Daniel Andrews identifies as a Catholic.

The Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter Comensoli (pictured), the state's most senior Catholic, told the Herald Sun the premier's comments were harmful.

"Such language pitches some members of the community against others and contributes to an unhelpful spirit of division," Comensoli.

"It leaves ordinary people of faith questioning if they can publicly hold their committed beliefs, or even to be able to exercise leadership and service in the community."

"It really concerns me deeply," Comensoli told The Age. "It is quite a bizarre reality we seem to have entered into where people are being judged unworthy to lead because of some of their basic Christian beliefs."

Adel Salman, the president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, says the episode is the "most stark example" of organisations sacrificing religious freedom at the altar of corporate image.

"Someone should not be discriminated against and ostracised because of their religious views," Salman said. "I feel sorry for everyone involved, and I just hope this doesn't become a commonplace occurrence."

Thorburn quit as Essendon chief executive after club president David Barham insisted he choose between employment at the club and his volunteer position as chair of City on the Hill, an Anglican church.

Barham issued the ultimatum after the Herald Sun published extracts from a nine-year-old sermon delivered by a City on the Hill pastor which likened abortion rates to the Holocaust and urged same-sex attracted people to remain celibate.

Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Phil Freier said his church rejected homophobia and he saw nothing in Thorburn's reported comments which contradicted that.

Prominent workplace lawyer Josh Bornstein said that under Victorian law, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of their religious belief or activity. He said it was arguable that in delivering its ultimatum to Thorburn, Essendon breached the Equal Opportunity Act.

Comensoli said it appeared a new "litmus test" had been established for people seeking leadership roles in football and other professions, and questioned the impact this could have on ordinary people of faith.

"Are they now having to rethink how they think?" he said.

"There is a level of intrusion of this into people's lives which I think is really concerning."

Sources

Brisbane Times

The Guardian

CathNews New Zealand

Former NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn (pictured) said, "I was being required to compromise beyond a level that my conscience allowed," after his 30-hour stint with the Melbourne AFL club ended.

"People should be able to hold different views on complex personal and moral matters, and be able to live and work together, even with those differences, and always with respect.

"Behaviour is the key.

"This is an important part of a tolerant and diverse society."

A day after he was appointed to run the club he had supported since childhood, Mr Thorburn resigned after it emerged he was chairman of a church that has published a series of articles critical of homosexuality and abortion.

Essendon president Dave Barham said the club acted swiftly to review revelations that the City on a Hill church posted a 2013 sermon to its website that said acting on same-sex attraction was "a sin" and another likening abortion to concentration camps.

Barham said those views did not align with Essendon's values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for all.

Mr Thorburn said: "Let me be clear - I love all people, and have always promoted and lived an inclusive, diverse, respectful and supportive workplace - where people are welcomed regardless of their culture, religious beliefs and sexual orientation."

Mr Barham said, "The board made clear that despite these not being views that Andrew Thorburn has expressed personally and that were also made prior to him taking up his role as chairman, he could not continue to serve in his dual roles at the Essendon Football Club and as chairman of City on the Hill.

"I want to stress that neither the board nor Andrew was aware of the comments from the 2013 sermon until we read about them this morning.

"I also want to stress that this is not about vilifying anyone for their personal religious beliefs, but about a clear conflict of interest with an organisation whose views do not align at all with our values as a safe, inclusive, diverse and welcoming club for our staff, our players, our members, our fans, our partners and the wider community."

Mr Thorburn said his faith had not previously led to any issues with his leading large and diverse companies.

"I was CEO of a bank that had 5000 people, I was a CEO of a bank that had 35,000 people - now I'm going to a different organisation, but in all those, there's a diversity of people."

Sources

The Australian

ABC News

CathNews New Zealand