Bureaucrats play God, break Caesar’s law, by Mark Sneddon.

Education Department officials in Queensland have decided that primary school students can’t talk about Christianity or even give Christmas cards because this is “evangelism” and creates an unsafe environment. Yes, really. This policy, which officials admit is unsupported by any statute or regulation, has the smell of totalitarianism. … It just targets Christianity and Christian students. …

The policy is doubly discriminatory. First, only religious speech is banned for being “unsafe” — what about political speech? Second, only Christian students are prevented from talking about their faith or whether they attended a place of worship on the weekend or giving cards with Christian messages. Muslim and Jewish and Hindu students can talk about their religions — about Ramadan and Yom Kippur and Diwali –… but why not Christians? The Education Department bureaucrats say Jesus is out and Mohammed can stay. …

This policy is issued and enforced without legal support by unelected bureaucrats. …

So, unelected bureaucrats, acknowledging that they don’t have legal support for their policy, are engaged in a remarkable curtailment of what would be considered normal, everyday speech, in the name providing a “safe” and “inclusive” environment. The irony could hardly be more resounding. These schools will be “safe” and “inclusive” for whom? Obviously not students who want to share their Christian faith with others.

hat-tip Stephen Neil