Can places of worship be places of exclusion?

Religious service - A woman worships with others in her congregation.

Is religion voluntary and recreational? Can attending a place of worship be equated to attending any other public gathering? Source: Source: Jay Hsu - Chen Chieh/Creative Commons

The New South Wales government’s reopening plan allows only fully vaccinated people to attend places of worship after the state achieves a 70 per cent fully vaccinated level. Apart from the problem of policing this, some religious leaders face a tension between supporting both public health policy and religious values like inclusion.

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Published 28 September 2021 9:11pm

By sri dean

Presented by sri dean

Source: SBS

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The New South Wales government’s reopening plan allows only fully vaccinated people to attend places of worship after the state achieves a 70 per cent fully vaccinated level. Apart from the problem of policing this, some religious leaders face a tension between supporting both public health policy and religious values like inclusion.

Rev Christian Tirtha is the minister from the Indonesian Christian Church in Melbourne. He explains to Sri Dean the practical issues, the uncertainties and the dilemmas that religions will face as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.