Church and State - Australia's Imaginary Wall (Paperback, New)

The complicated and frequently unclear relationship between the Church and the State has resurfaced as a controversial issue in Australia. From the appointment of an archbishop as Governor-General to churches tendering for government services, the influence of religious organisations on government activity has focused public attention on fundamental questions of law, philosophy, politics and government, and whether a wall of separation ought to exist between the Church and the State. Tom Frame, Anglican Bishop to the Defence Force, argues few Australians realise that the Constitution does not formally separate Church and State. He asserts that some contact between them is both inevitable and, in some circumstances, highly desirable. But there are continuing and unnecessary tensions, for which Christians are largely responsible. This book explores the nature of the tensions - how some can be resolved and how others must be accommodated as a permanent feature of political life in a land without walls.