Inciting hatred and contempt or ridiculing someone because of their religious beliefs is set to become a crime in NSW.
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The NSW government has flagged plans to introduce legislation prohibiting vilification on the grounds of religious belief, affiliation or activity.
Multiculturalism Minister Steve Kamper says religious vilification is on the rise.
"This is unacceptable," he said on Wednesday.
"Members of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh faiths have all raised concerns about the growing levels of intolerance towards members of their communities."
The legislation would provide faith communities with similar protections granted to members of diverse and multicultural communities.
It would become unlawful to publicly incite hatred towards or severely ridicule a person or group because of their religious belief, affiliation or activity.
Passing the bill would fulfil a Labor election commitment to prohibit religious vilification but will require crossbench support.
The Greens said the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act needs a full and independent review, particularly amid a rise in rhetoric and aggression against the LGBTQI community.
"(The act) does not need another ad-hoc addition that inserts broad 'religious vilification' provisions without other protections or amends," Greens anti-discrimination spokeswoman Jenny Leong said on Wednesday.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre also warned the scope of the changes was broader than most other Australian jurisdictions, including Victoria and Queensland.
The amendments did not properly define a religious belief, affiliation and activity and opened a loophole for unlawful activities to be protected on religious grounds, it said.
The government said the amendments were modelled on the existing provisions that make vilification unlawful on the grounds of race, homosexuality, transgender status and HIV/AIDS status.
The proposed law would also protect people who do not hold religious beliefs or affiliations in recognition that their beliefs about religious matters should be protected.
Religious belief is declining in Australia, with almost as many people stating "no religion" in the 2021 census (39 per cent) as those stating belief in Christianity (44 per cent).
However, religious diversity is increasing with one in 10 Australians now professing a non-Christian faith.
Some 2.1 million people are affiliated with Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism in Australia.
Australian Associated Press
