The facts do not support this assertion.

Each week people of faith gather openly to reflect on sacred text, to hear addresses, to pray and to worship.

They create communities of care and hope which make useful contributions to their villages and suburbs.

Many religious groups are supported strongly by their wider communities with people working with them and contributing to their fund-raising.

Religious people in Australian do not experience oppression.

As a committed Christian, I hear my fellow Australians saying to me "can you churchgoers let me live in peace?"

To put it another way, "I'm happy for you to do your religious thing but can you leave me alone?"

Australians willingly tolerate a wide religious landscape on the basis that it will not intrude on their lives.

People who practice their faith must find new ways of relating to their communities if they want to speak in a way that can be heard.

A clear majority of Australians no longer want to be involved in debates about how consenting adults express themselves sexually.

They find the condemnatory views of some religious groups about homosexuality demeaning and denigrating.

Many people found the plebiscite, about changes to the Marriage Act, damaging to themselves or to people they care about.

I am such a person.

I hope we never again put any group of Australians through a national debate on issues so deeply connected with their identity.

The discussion about religious freedom is no longer focused on the Marriage Act, but the curriculum and teaching staff in faith-based schools.

Same-sex marriage might be legal, but a range of religious institutions want to retain the right to put forward approaches to human intimacy espousing heterosexuality and purity.

Lesson content and teacher morality take centre-stage as the rights of the employer are debated.

When we shift the focus away from sexual intimacy to forming meaningful relationships, the conversation changes.

Many people will speak about the difficulties they have experienced in finding and sustaining long-term companionship if not for themselves, for people they know and love.

Loneliness is everywhere and exists for myriad reasons.

I am more energised by helping people navigate that complex landscape and I want to bring a spiritual dimension to that exploration.

I want people to experience the wonder of being truly loved by another human being who will be there for them in times of difficulty and despair, as well as in the seasons of joy and laughter.

Such an environment provides profound opportunities to explore the religious and faith dimensions of love.

My hunch is that such an educational endeavour requires a very honest curriculum and a teaching staff who have reflected deeply on the joys and challenges of their life.

Such teachers create an educational community in which students embrace ways of life marked by courage, compassion, integrity, justice, wisdom and even faith.

It is an educational way that is better than any we experienced when we were in school, no matter how good our experience.

Now, in keeping with people of faith across the world, I do think that Anglican Christians have some powerful things to say about human relationships and sexual expression, along with a whole lot of other areas of life.

In the 'marketplace' of competing worldviews and philosophical methods Anglicans in this region will be working hard to find ways of communicating these insights in ways that are helpful and meaningful for those who want to hear.

Open dialogue and nurturing educational communities are not fostered by discrimination. I don't think faith-based schools are facing oppression and I don't think they should have any right to discriminate against the LGBTIQ+ community through enrolment, employment or curriculum.

I am wary of any changes in legislation that create opportunities for discrimination and I support changes that would further limit discriminatory behaviour.