The debate over same-sex marriage provides an opportunity and a litmus test for how religious freedom will be treated into the future, Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson says.
Amid concerns of a rise in religious intolerance, Mr Wilson says it's time for a new "settlement" among the various secular and non-secular groups in Australia that would be consistent with a pluralistic society.
He said the Commission had received submissions on religious freedom from across the board, including from religious communities that felt they were increasingly unable to express their opinions on faith in the "public square".
There were also many concerns raised by people without belief, who felt religious freedom was already given too much privilege in law, he told the gathering of representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Anglican, Baha'i, Russian Orthodox and Buddhist faiths, as well as from the Atheist Foundation and the Church of Scientology at a round-table discussion on religious freedom at the Human Rights Commission.
"There was a need to bring together those who were prepared to have constructive dialogue and consider options for a settlement that doesn't pitch religious freedom against the right of others, but instead focuses on common and uniting principles to ensure that laws can respect and advance the rights of all," Mr Wilson said.
The Abbott-government appointee argued that those with belief needed to "step up and recognise that if they want others to respect their religious freedom, they need to respect the rights and freedoms of others".
He challenged them to be more engaged in the debate on same-sex marriage.
"Contemporary debates like forthcoming reform of the Marriage Act provide an opportunity and a litmus test for how religious freedom will be treated into the future," he said.
"But equally they provide a litmus test for how religious communities want their rights to be treated by others: as part of an active discussion or tacked on at the end after the debate has largely ended.
"In many ways the future of religious freedom is in the hands of those with belief."
Federal Attorney-General George Brandis urged delegates at the summit to identify strategies to counter an "alarming emergence of intolerance of religious faith".
"In Australia today, we have somewhat inconsistent attitudes to religious tolerance," he said.
