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God Under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australian Politics

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Marion Maddox's "God Under Howard" is a fascinating book. It discusses the role of religion in Australian politics during the tenure (still ongoing at the time of writing) of Australia's second-longest-serving Prime Minister, John Howard.

Maddox parallels the beliefs and tactics of the religious right in US politics with those of the conservative Liberal Party government lead by John Howard in Australia. However, the book is not only limited to Howard's tenure as Prime Minister (1996-present). The opening chapter outlines the influence of religion in Howard's early life. In addition it examines the role of political tactics borrowed from the US religious right in Howard's time in opposition, and how these tactics helped him rise to power.

Historical discussions about Howard's youth, and about debates in Australian Parliament over euthanasia and equal employment opportunities are very interesting.

From a purely political-science point of view, the analysis of how a quite secular country like Australia has been influenced by religiously-based political movements is very interesting. This book would be enjoyed by anyone interested in Australian politics, comparative world politics, and religion.

There are some moderate biases in this book, mostly opposing some of the Howard Government's policies, and opposing people who interpret Christianity as saying that Jesus wanted people to be rich. These biases are not overwhelming, and much of the treatment of subject matter in the book is objective and even-handed.

The book paints a picture that religious-right views are strongly pervasive in Australian politics, and strongly influence many Australian politicians. Recently, the Australian Parliament voted to effectively lift restrictions on the abortion drug RU486 and on theraputic cloning for stem cell research, this development somewhat undermines the image of Australian politics that this book presents.

This book makes a clear case for why some of the Bush Christian rhetoric does not work so effectively (at least yet)in polarising Australian public opinion. Having established this, it makes an even more compelling case for the indirect manipulation of public opinion by the subtle use of 'us' and 'them' labelling.

This is not just about the politics and religious beliefs of leaders.

It is also about the role of the popular media in presenting opinions as facts without analalysing either what is actually being said or what it might mean in the eyes/ears of the recipient.

I recommend this book to all who are interested in, or care, about the kind of country we want Australia to be. But we need to think about who we (collectively) are. Reading this book will help stimulate thought on this.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Maddox's book lays out the extent to which religion and politics are intertwined in Australia in minute detail. The voice is pragmatic, but there are unmistakably dire implications for the country. Even though Australia is not as overtly influenced by the Religious Right as the US, Maddox makes it clear that there is a great deal more _covert_ action taking place that has been deliberately obscured.

Although this book is now a little dated, it remains a valuable resource for exposing some of the key players in this situation - and I look forward with anticipation to Maddox providing us with an updated edition.

This book is a classic example of trying to over-analyse something that has a much simpler explanation. It tries to demonstrate that the electoral success of former Australian PM John Howard was tied to a rise of a Religious Right movement in Australian politics. The argument is that Howard's 1996 victory became the catalyst for formation of the Religious Right.....although by Maddox's logic there must have already been a prominent Religious Right movement for the "fundamentalist" Howard to win in the first place, mustn't there? Either way, the book is fishing in a shallow pool, since the central premise is flawed. What interviews I have heard Howard give on the subject indicate he regards himself as very much a lapsed Christian, so the idea of him as some sort of fundamentalist figurehead is illogical.

A substantial part of the book is devoted to charting the rise of the Religious Right in US politics, and some parallels with Australian individuals and events are given to imply that a similar thing is occuring here. But is that really proof? Sure, there are a number of prominent individuals in the Liberal Party who could be called fundamentalist Christians (even some larger-scale movements like David Clarke and his followers in NSW), but that's hardly evidence of the co-ordinated widespread front that we see in America.

The idea that the country took a massive Rightward lurch since 1996 is a classic case of searching for signs that aren't there. Yes, more people supported the conservatives over Labor during Howard's rule, go figure! That's called electing a government. There are plenty of reasons for electing a particular party to government, from pure ideology to cynical "they won't stuff it up as much as the other mob". To imply that Howard's success is due solely, or even primarily, to the fact that Australians all became a bunch of Bible-bashing puritans is laughable. Note that Australia elected Kevin Rudd from the ALP in 2007...by Maddox's logic that must mean we suddenly turned from fundamentalist fantatics into a bunch of Commies and hippies.

And the idea that the success of the sort-of-Christian Family First party in 2004 was due to anything other than clever preference deals is clear overstatement. Senator Fielding got 2% of the vote in one state, and won a Senate spot through a combination of backroom deals and the quirks of our electoral system. The closest thing to a genuine Religious Right politician in Australia would probably be Rev Fred Nile; in 2007 his party scored 4% and 1 seat in a state Upper House election. Doesn't exactly make Australia a Mississippi Down Under, does it?

I don't know whether Maddox is just suffering from a bad case of confirmation bias or if she's pushing a particular agenda, but this book begins from a fundamentally flawed premise that just can't be supported. For all the rhetoric, the cold hard facts don't suggest there's anything like a significant Religious Right movement in Australia, and certainly not one that is driven by John Howard. Maddox has clearly done plenty of research, and tries gamely to make her case, but nothing can really disguise the fact that she is simply wrong.