The myth of a white, Christian nation versus Australia’s diverse worldview reality: rectifying post-truth Christian privilege in the Australian curriculum

The inclusion of content on religion in Australian curricula has always been a highly contentious issue. Education plays a central role in nation building, and tensions over curriculum content on religion reflect a greater battle waged over the myth of a white, Christian nation, versus Australia’s diverse worldview reality. This article presents an analysis and evaluation of content on worldview diversity – spiritual, religious and secular – in the Humanities and Social Science (HASS) Learning Area of the two latest Australian Curricula (AC), versions 8 and 9. This study reveals that the current HASS content does not adequately reflect either the historical facts or the contemporary demographics of the worldview diversity of this continent, and particularly that of young Australians. Moreover, Australian and international research has demonstrated that worldview education can play a critical and positive role in advancing intercultural understanding and social inclusion. However, the AC still lags behind other nations in this capacity, beholden instead to the interests of post-truth Christian lobbyists’ narrow nationalism. This article concludes, by contrast, with a call to rectify the AC’s privileging of Christianity through a truer account, which foregrounds First Nations knowledges and better reflects the worldview diversity and complexity of Australia.