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ACL’s Michelle Pearse Backs the Australian Christian Freedom Index: “We Refuse to Retreat”
The Australian Christian Freedom Index (ACFI) is now at the forefront of essential reading.
As Michelle Pearse declared in a June 30 newsletter, the groundbreaking report’s “results confirm what many of us quietly sensed.”
“This is more than a feeling,” the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) CEO and ACFI co-author added.
“Over the past 25 years, 74 separate laws narrowing Christian freedom have passed through our parliaments.”
Significantly, 61 of those laws which limit livelihoods and civil liberties were passed by the Australian Labor Party (see here).
“Law by law,” Pearce wrote, “the room to live and speak as a Christian is shrinking.”
Not Just Perception
Today, 92% of Christians consider it less safe to share their faith, with education and healthcare providers feeling the push to self-censor the hardest.
Pearse’s newsletter reasserted the contents of a June interview with Herald Sun columnist and Sky News host Andrew Bolt just after ACFI’s release.
“It’s not just a perception that it’s riskier to be a Christian, it’s actually a fact,” she explained.
Almost half of the 74 laws mentioned above have been enacted by Federal and State Labor Governments in the last five years.
A prime example is Victoria’s aggressive ‘conversion therapy’ ban, which outlawed pastors from praying for people, even with consent regarding concerns about sexuality.
“The laws being passed in the states,” Pearse warned, “have a chilling effect on Christian freedom.”
Speaking further about the erosion of Christian freedom, Pearse’s June 30 ACL e-newsletter unpacked ACFI’s significance, asserting that “a faith that stays quiet long enough stops being heard.”
To this Pearse added, “On a recognised international scale, persecution runs through eight stages, from ridicule to martyrdom.”
“Australia has reached the fifth in a single generation.”
Withdrawing from Society
“The gravest three we have not seen here yet. But you don’t need the worst laws to silence people. The fear of them is already doing it.”
Referring to Matthew 5, Pearse said, “Jesus did not call his Church to retreat into silence.”
“Yet that is the world your children and grandchildren may inherit: free to believe, so long as they keep it out of sight.”
“The report is clear: backing down has only cost us more freedom.”
So, Pearce declared, “we refuse to retreat.”
Citing ACL’s important work and the value of investing in it, she added, “A church free to speak is a church free to serve — the shelters, the foster homes, the bedside of the dying.”
“The world may be teaching us to make ourselves smaller. By God’s grace, and with your help, we will keep doing the opposite.”
Fearlessly Proclaiming the Gospel
To this the CEO, wife and mother affirmed: “What we need is a nation where every Christian is free to profess their faith without fear.”
“And we do not write to you afraid.”
“The Church was born under an empire that wanted it gone, and outlived it — Paul advanced the gospel further from a prison cell than many manage from a pulpit.”
Remarking on the potential positive impact of the Australian Christian Freedom Index, Pearce said,
“The survey findings are sobering, but pressure has always met its match in a Church that refuses to hide its light.”
Pearce also said in a press release published by ACL on June 5, “Perhaps the [ACFI’s] most significant finding is not that Christians are facing challenges.”
“Jesus told us to expect opposition. Rather, it is that many believers are quietly withdrawing from public life.”
“That should concern us all. Freedom of religion is not a special privilege for Christians. It is a fundamental freedom.”
Therefore, she concluded, ACFI’s findings “should be a wake-up call for every Christian in Australia.”
“I encourage you to read the report, share it with others, and help start conversations in your church, community and workplace.”
“Change does not happen when people remain silent.”
Illustrating just how far the Australian Christian Freedom Index has reached, Billy Graham’s Decision magazine also highlighted the report upon its release.
Quoting from the report, Decision said the ACFI uncovers a “growing antagonism toward Christianity Down Under.”
Image via screenshot of the Sky News and the ACFI.
ODM Daily Commentary
Let’s be honest: Michelle Pearse is saying what too many Christians are afraid to admit. The Australian Christian Freedom Index is not a document of complaint; it is a document of evidence. And the evidence is damning.
74 laws have narrowed Christian freedom in 25 years. 61 of those were passed by the Labor Party. 92% of Christians say it’s riskier to share their faith. And Pearse has the guts to call it what it is: Australia has reached the fifth stage of persecution in a single generation. From ridicule to martyrdom, the Church is being systematically silenced.
But Pearse doesn’t just diagnose the problem; she calls for action. She reminds us that “a faith that stays quiet long enough stops being heard.” She warns that “backing down has only cost us more freedom.” And she declares, “we refuse to retreat.”
This is the kind of leadership we need. Not the timid, defensive posture that too many church leaders have adopted. Not the “let’s just be nice and hope they leave us alone” strategy that has failed so miserably. But a bold, prophetic, unapologetic stand for the freedom to speak and serve.
Pearse’s point about the “fear of the worst laws” is crucial. You don’t need to be thrown in prison to be silenced. You just need to be afraid that you might be. And that fear is already working. Christians are withdrawing from public life. They are self-censoring. They are hiding their light.
But Pearse says, “The Church was born under an empire that wanted it gone, and outlived it.” Paul advanced the gospel from a prison cell. The early Christians faced far worse than we do. And they didn’t retreat. They advanced.
The article also highlights that the ACFI is now reaching beyond Australia. Billy Graham’s Decision magazine featured it, calling attention to the “growing antagonism toward Christianity Down Under.” The world is watching. And the question is: will we cower, or will we stand?
Pearse’s final call is for every Christian to read the report, share it, and start conversations. Change does not happen when people remain silent. And that is the bottom line.
So, here is the challenge: read the report. Share it with your church, your community, your MP. Refuse to be silent. Refuse to retreat. And remember that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in you.
The Church was never meant to be a museum. It was meant to be an army. And it is time to march.
— ODM Daily
