The Project host Hamish Macdonald has slammed the Presbyterian Church’s proposed ban on gay and sexually active students from leadership roles.
Macdonald, an openly gay man, shared his thoughts on the church’s controversial calls during Friday’s panel discussion and said he doesn’t see how the ban would actually be enforced.
He’s also a former student of The Scots College, one of Australia’s oldest and most respected Presbyterian schools in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
‘I was a prefect. I went to a Presbyterian school. There’s clearly the principle of this, which I’m sure people have views on,’ Macdonald said.
‘The thing that strikes me is there’s a practical side to this.
‘Are you seriously going to ask 16 and 17-year-old kids vying to be a school prefect or head prefect ‘are you gay?’.’
The Project host Hamish Macdonald (right) questioned how The Presbyterian Church would enforce its proposed ban of gay and sexually active students from leadership roles
Macdonald also expressed concern that the proposal could create new level of stigma around homosexuality in religious schools.
‘Let’s assume they’re not going to run around asking these kids to declare themselves in that way as part of a process of selection. You sort of end up with a bit of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, which I think we know is pretty harmful,’ he said.
‘I think kids growing up in an environment where there is shame or some kind of negativity attached to whoever it is that they are.’
He added he’s struggled to grow out of the shame he felt for his own sexuality as a teenager.
‘It’s that sense of shame that is quite hard to shake, I think. In my adult life, it’s something that’s taken many years, and I think it stays with you forever,’ Macdonald explained.
‘If you’ve grown up in an environment like that where there’s constantly shame attached to something you can’t change about yourself, it does really take forever to work that out of your system and be able to be okay with who and what you are.’
News of the Presbyterian Church’s new position broke earlier on Friday with the organisation arguing students will ‘not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling of Christian living’.
The Presbyterian Church has over 500 congregations across Australia and runs more than 20 schools and pre-schools, including prestigious private schools in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Macdonald (pictured with his partner, Jacob Fitzroy) said the proposed ban could also create a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy’ around homosexuality in religious schools
The church made the extraordinary demand in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission.
The Presbyterian Church is also advocating for the ban to apply to anyone who has sex outside of marriage.
The ALRC is currently reviewing religious schools and their exemption from federal anti-discrimination law.
Some schools are currently not held accountable to the law if the discrimination adheres to their religious tenants and beliefs.
The ALRC has asked for feedback on some of the proposed changes that would make it unlawful to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation.
The Presbyterian Church argued in its submission that students must be able to give ‘appropriate Christian leadership’ if they are elected as school captain.
‘If this student were in an active same-sex relationship, they would not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling Christian living,’ the submission read.
‘This would also be the case for a student in a sexually active unmarried heterosexual relationship.
‘In both cases, the proposal removes from schools the ability to determine an ethos by selecting appropriate leaders.’
The Presbyterian Church has over 500 congregations across Australia and runs more than 20 schools and pre-schools (stock image)
The ALRC is also reviewing a proposal that would make it unlawful to discriminate against teachers and staff based on their sexual orientation.
The Presbyterian Church revealed in its submission it wants to retain the power to discriminate against staff if they do not ‘live out the whole Christian faith consistently’.
The church runs some of the most prestigious schools around the country, including Brisbane Boys’ College and Somerville House in Queensland.
Presbyterian Ladies’ College and Scotch College in Victoria and Presbyterian Ladies’ College and The Scots College in NSW are also on the list.
Rainbow Families Queensland made its own submission saying some parents were too scared to speak out for fear of repercussions.
‘Changing the outdated Sex Discrimination Act exemptions and ensuring that children are protected from discrimination by association will positively influence the culture of exclusionary schools over time,’ the submission read.
The review is expected to be handed down within weeks.
The Presbyterian Church is also advocating for the ban to apply to anyone who has sex outside of marriage
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