Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfasts

The importance of religious freedom examined at interfaith breakfast

The importance of championing diversity and inclusion were key themes at ACU’s fifth Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast at Parliament House in Melbourne on Tuesday 26 November.

Over 150 guests attended, including more than 45 faith leaders and 40 parliamentarians.

Former NSW Premier and ACU Chancellor the Hon John Fahey AC, GCSG welcomed guests, while Victorian Deputy Premier the Hon James Merlino MP and Leader of the Opposition the Hon Michael O'Brien MP gave speeches that noted our strength as a community rests in our shared values of diversity and inclusion.
The leaders of five different faiths delivered readings on the importance of religious freedom, leadership, service and community harmony, and prayed for wise deliberations and good governance.

Deputy Premier Merlino said, “One of Victoria’s greatest strengths is its history of multiculturalism and religious diversity. We are uniquely home to a culture that aims to ensure people of all backgrounds and beliefs can freely and proudly practice their faith.

“That is why a breakfast like this is so important. We know that our state is infinitely stronger because we refuse to let those differences divide us - we use those differences to unite all of us.”

Opposition Leader O'Brien said, “A harmonious, well-functioning multicultural society requires a genuine appreciation of our differences. Our different birthplaces, our different languages and ancestries, our life journeys and experiences as well as our different beliefs.

“Together it is our responsibility to foster this interfaith understanding and to protect religious freedoms as an essential element of ensuring community harmony.”

Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner Mr Chin Tan said, “Events like this Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast play an important role in shaping the framework of rights protection in Australia. Interfaith dialogue is a powerful tool for overcoming bias through open communication, empathy and education.

“Ongoing conversations between different faith groups highlight our similarities and build respectful understanding of our differences. These differences are the colourful threads in the tapestry of modern multicultural Australia. Sharing in the diversity of Australia’s faith groups is an opportunity to better understand not only our community but the wider world in which we live.”

Archbishop of Melbourne Peter A Comensoli, who was also a guest at the event this morning said, “This morning’s breakfast at the Victorian Parliament was a simple and joyful celebration of our freedom in Australia to practise our religion. It is inspiring to see members of Parliament sharing a coffee with religious leaders and listening to them with respect. We need more moments like this in contemporary Australia.

“We can all be thankful to Australian Catholic University for taking the lead in bringing different faiths together to pray and to talk with one another.”

ACU’s parliamentary interfaith breakfasts have become a popular event on the calendars of both parliamentarians and the leaders of faith communities. This year, parliamentarians had the opportunity to meet with leaders from more than 17 faiths - including various Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and other communities – with the intention of celebrating shared values.

ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven AO, GCSG said Australians were extremely fortunate to live in a country that valued human rights and the ability to observe our own faiths.

“These should not be privileges; they should be fundamental to our existence as individuals, and collectively as a community,” Professor Craven said. “Religion should always be a legitimate voice as a source of values within public life and within public affairs. People of faith should be able to express their religious freedom, to explore our differences, and to rejoice in our shared beliefs.

“And as leaders – whether in law, government, faith, industry, education or society – it is our responsibility to champion, uphold and protect these important freedoms, so we can continue to express our faith, and live in harmony and mutual respect.”

ACU held its inaugural Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast in Sydney in March 2014. Subsequent breakfasts were held in Canberra in 2015 and 2017, and in Sydney in 2018.

View photographs from the 2019 Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast

Diversity and tolerance celebrated at interfaith breakfast

ACU hosted the fourth Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfast on 17 October 2018 at Parliament House in Sydney.

Nearly 200 guests attended and were joined by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and former Opposition Leader Luke Foley, each of whom spoke about the value of our multi-faith society.

Premier Berejiklian said our strength rested in our shared values of diversity and inclusion.

“It gives me an enormous sense of pride to see so many distinguished community leaders of all religions and all faiths, coming together to break bread… this is something that doesn’t happen in all parts of the world,” she said.

Mr Foley said faith communities were an important part of our society, allowing the community to feel valued, supported and connected.

“Religion should always be a legitimate voice as a source of values within public life and within public affairs,” he said.

Guests also heard from SBS World News journalist and news presenter Ms Janice Petersen who delivered the keynote speech. Ms Peterson spoke about the role of media in society and reporting of religion.

Leaders from five religions read prayers for wise deliberations and good government.

Parliamentarians had the opportunity to meet with leaders from more than 20 faiths – including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and other communities – to celebrate shared values.

ACU's parliamentary interfaith breakfasts have become a popular event on the calendars of both parliamentarians and the leaders of faith communities.

Coming together to promote understanding

On Wednesday 9 August 2017, Australian Catholic University (ACU) hosted the second Federal Interfaith Parliamentary Breakfast at the National Press Club in Canberra.

Around 220 guests attended, including 65 faith leaders and 30 federal parliamentarians.  Guests were joined by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Greens Leader Richard Di Natale, each of whom spoke about the value to Australia of our multi-faith society.

The Prime Minister said Australia’s strength resided in its multicultural nature, representing every corner of the world and every faith.

“All of that diversity enriches us,” Mr Turnbull said. “One of the most important things for us to encourage our children to do… is to be curious about our friends, our neighbours’ histories, cultural histories, religious values, religious interests. Because the more we understand each other, the more enriched we are. Everybody's culture enriches everybody else's.”

Mr Shorten spoke of the importance of inclusion of people from all faiths and those of none.

“For Australians of faith, religion is a base to build upon in public life. It is what sustains us in private life. It is not an instrument of division or vilification. Values of faith can guide us in this modern world to be a guide for our children, whatever their circumstances.”

Senator Di Natale said faith communities serve an important role as social fabric.

“They provide a place to feel valued, supported and connected; the notion of love and of caring for each other,” he said.

“It is the common thread that runs through all the world’s religions. It is to be celebrated. It gives us a sense of belonging and deep connection. Interfaith communities are about bringing people together, building connections, building faith. We are all better because of it. We learn from each other.”

Guests also heard from Dr Conrad Hackett, Senior Demographer at the renowned Washington-based Pew Research Center, who set out Pew’s projections for religious identity and demographics around the world.

While, in Western countries, it is easy to think that the world is becoming less religious, Dr Hackett said, the overall global trend shows an increase in the proportion of people claiming to have a religious identity.

Dr Hackett noted that, by 2060, just 9 per cent of all babies will be born to religiously unaffiliated women, while more than 7-in-10 will be born to either Muslims or Christians.

Faiths represented at the breakfast included leaders from Australia's Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Baha'i communities. Christian denominations present included Roman Catholic, Anglican, Salvation Army, Uniting Church, Coptic Orthodox, Sukyo Mahikari, Syro-Malabar, United Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, Quakers, Presbyterian, Lutheran and CRC Churches.

Leaders from five religions read prayers from their own traditions. They were:

• Mr Shahram Noorgostar, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahai’s of Australia
• Ms Cecilia Mitra, Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils
• Most Reverend Amel Nona, Chaldean Archbishop of Australia and NZ
• Sheikh Ahmed Abdo, nominee of the Grand Mufti of Australia
• Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, Rabbinical Council of Australia and New Zealand

Initiated in 2014, ACU’s Parliamentary Interfaith Breakfasts provide an opportunity for politicians from all parties and leaders of different denominations to interact and learn about each other’s culture and traditions.

Celebration of diversity and tolerance

Australian Catholic University (ACU) hosted the Inaugural Federal Parliamentary Interfaith Prayer Breakfast at Old Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 17 June.

Prime Minister, The Hon Tony Abbott MP, and Opposition Leader, The Hon Bill Shorten MP each provided a welcome, and seven faith leaders delivered readings on leadership, governance, and service.

The Prime Minister praised the work faith leaders do for the common good and said that it was valuable to have a faith to provide support through difficult times.

“Faith matters, and these days it is more important than ever that we have faith,” Mr Abbott said. “Faith doesn’t make us good but, by God, it makes us better. There is a judge over us who is greater than those who are sitting in judgment of us today.”

The keynote address was delivered by Dr Stepan Kerkyasharian AO, President of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board and for 25 years the Chair and CEO of the Community Relations Commission for a Multi-Cultural NSW, who spoke on the need now, more than ever, for religions and faiths, in their own differing ways, to lead us collectively and in harmony to the highest and purest ideals of human co-existence.

ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor, Greg Craven, said that the opportunity for leaders from across the political and religious spectrum to share a meal together was an invaluable experience and signalled a unity of spirit that exists across political and faith boundaries.

“ACU’s Mission is to foster an appreciation of the sacred in life and a commitment to serving the common good. Core to this tradition is the recognition of the dignity of the human person.”

“The Catholic intellectual tradition promotes engagement with and understanding of people of different faiths. The interfaith prayer breakfast provides an opportunity to reflect on the important role that faith plays in our everyday lives and in making sense of our world.”

ACU Director of Identity and Mission, Father Anthony Casamento, said the event was a good example of how ACU lives out its Mission in pursuing dialogue and understanding, which are the hallmarks of Catholic intellectual tradition. “ACU is the only university well placed in the country to be called upon to draw so many diverse people and have the importance of faith placed so prominently in the public arena,” he said.

Faiths represented at the breakfast included leaders from Australia's Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Baha'i communities. Leaders from Christian churches were also there including Baptist, the Salvation Army, the Uniting Church, Coptic Orthodox, Assemblies of God the Wesley Mission and other denominations.

It was significant that the inaugural interfaith prayer breakfast occurred midway through World Refugee Week, and the 50th anniversary year of Vatican II's ground-breaking Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate).

Interfaith breakfasts have not been a part of the Australian tradition. ACU hopes that this interfaith parliamentary prayer breakfast presents federal politicians from all parties with the opportunity to meet and join together with leaders of different denominations, while faith leaders will have the opportunity to interact with parliamentarians and explain something of their traditions and culture to them.

Diversity celebrated at interfaith breakfast

General Peter Cosgrove AC MC CNZM spoke of the responsibility Australians have to embrace diversity and live peacefully, in his address at an Australian Catholic University (ACU) breakfast in Sydney on Wednesday 6 March 2014.

The Governor-General designate and outgoing Chancellor of the University was the keynote speaker at ACU's Inaugural NSW Interfaith Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast for around 200 political and faith leaders on Thursday.

General Cosgrove said it was important to "understand the need to have a determined purpose to live our lives peacefully, healthily, enjoyably and productively. This determination instils in us a sense of responsibility, of accountability, a need to protect and nurture the present.

"We believe we have a fundamental responsibility to each other, starting with our family and extending endlessly through our society. This spirit of generosity may not be uniquely Australian but to me it is the bedrock of our character. It characterises the most ancient part of our society and it is what attracts the newest members to our shore."

Leaders from more than 24 faiths, representing the rich religious and cultural lives of Australians, shared breakfast with politicians from more than with 43 parliamentarians from six political parties across the state. ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven welcomed guests, and Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner and Opposition leader John Robertson both delivered a speech, each addressing the importance of faith and acceptance.

Seven religious leaders from the Buddhist, Coptic Orthodox, Hindu, Jewish, Islamic, Catholic and Sikh communities delivered a prayer of faith and contemplation from their own tradition.

Each touched on a deep desire to encourage kindness, wisdom and thoughtful leadership.

ACU's Director of Government, Policy and Strategy, Julian Leeser, was the master of ceremonies at the event and said that interfaith prayer breakfasts involving both religious leaders and parliamentarians have not been part of the Australian tradition.

"We hope that this interfaith parliamentary prayer breakfast presents parliamentarians of all parties with the opportunity to join with leaders of different faiths to pray for wise deliberations over the coming parliamentary year," he said.

ACU's Vice Chancellor, Professor Greg Craven observed "As this event demonstrates, while we are very proudly a Catholic university, ACU is also a public university open to people of all faiths and of none. As a university our mission calls on us to foster an appreciation of the sacred in life and a commitment to serving the common good."

General Cosgrove said that the diversity and difference of its people was a fundamental aspect of Australian society.

"Our communities are made up of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, religions and life circumstances. To effectively and harmoniously live together we need to believe that our similarities are stronger than our differences. The challenge is to find our shared values. And I do believe that at the heart of our Australian community there is a solid core of vital, accepted values."

Religious speakers were:

• Venerable Dr Juewei, Head Priest, Nan Tien Temple, Buddhist Prayer
• His Grace, Bishop Daniel, Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Sydney and Affiliated Regions
• Mr Balesh Singh, Member, Executive Council, Hindu Council of Australia
• Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence, Chief Minister, Great Synagogue Sydney
• Dr Amin Hady, Mosque Leader, Zetland Mosque
• Bishop Peter Comensoli, Apostolic Administrator Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
• Sardar Bawa Jagdev, Secretary, Sikh Council

Read General Cosgrove’s speech (PDF, 59.7 KB) and the prayers (PDF, 1.5 MB).