Australian Conservatives Are Using Religious Faith as a Cover for Misogyny
Scott Morrison responded to the sexual abuse crisis in Australia’s parliament by making Amanda Stoker, a hard-right Christian and defender of misogyny, assistant minister for women. Stoker’s elevation is part of a right-wing campaign against women under the cloak of Christianity.
Senator Amanda Stoker and Prime Minister Scott Morrison at St Christopher’s Catholic Cathedral in Canberra, 2021. (Dominic Lorrimer / Getty Images)
Australia’s first Pentecostal PM, Scott Morrison, has been trying and failing to address revelations of sexual assault, abuse, and harassment in parliament. These crimes, both historical and more recent, are alleged to have been committed by Liberal Party politicians and staffers against their female colleagues.
The culture in parliament is unquestionably patriarchal. But that culture didn’t come out of nowhere. Misogyny is deeply ingrained in the Coalition, reinforced by an unholy alliance between Australian conservatives and right-wing Christian churches and lobby groups.
The basis for this alliance is partly ideological. As in the United States, ultraconservative, neoliberal Christianity supplies many Australian conservatives with a worldview emphasizing the most bigoted elements in the Christian tradition. Australian conservatives have cited “religious freedom” to justify exemptions from antidiscrimination laws.
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