The recently-released Australian Christian Freedom Index has named my case as one of 40 documented examples of Christians who have lost jobs, been dragged to court, or suffered financially for their faith.

I am not surprised. I am also not alone.

The Index, released last week by the Canberra Declaration, is a sobering account of what Australia has become. 

Since 2000, 74 laws have been passed restricting Christian freedom. Seventy-four. That is the results of a campaign.

Binary spokeswoman Kirralie Smith has spent years in court fighting for women’s sex-based rights – for declaring the simple, biological truth that males should not compete in female sport. 

She has been ordered to pay $95,000 in damages.

Speaking the truth is being redefined as violence in Australian courts. That should alarm every Australian, not just Christians.

The Index also documents what happened to Lyle Shelton, who paid dearly for speaking out against drag queen story time in children’s libraries. Or Bernard Gaynor, who was forced to sell his family home to cover $1 million in court costs for blogging about Christian marriage. 

According to the ACFI Survey, 4500 Christians reported hostility, threats or harassment for simply expressing a Christian worldview. 

Only 2.3 per cent of those surveyed believe Christian schools are very free to operate according to their beliefs. A mere 1.2 per cent said the same of Christian hospitals and health professionals.

Freedom of religion was never just the freedom to sit in a pew on Sunday. It has always meant the freedom to live out your convictions in every part of life – in schools, hospitals, sport, public debate. That is precisely the freedom that is disappearing.

We did not get here overnight. We will not fix it overnight either. But Australians who value truth, freedom, and fairness must stop assuming someone else will fight for it.

The hour is late. The evidence is in. Now we need the courage to act.