Prime Minister Gillard, aware that her election campaign was floundering, started talking about “the real Julia”.

Little changed, but the polls improved for some reason.

One change seems to be that Julia – rational atheist gravely respecting the views of the irrational earthlings who live in religious superstition . . . .

has morphed into . . . .

into someone desperately craving the so-called religious vote — willing to sell her (whatever atheists have instead of a soul) in the process.

Offering good taxpayers’ money to fund people’s trips to Rome for Blessed Mary MacKillop’s canonisation.

Plus promising money to fund school chaplains . . . .

It’s all too sad.

* * *

Yes, some of what passes for religion can be irrational — but one could argue that pure religion is pure rationality.

Also that atheism is a form of (very impure) religion.

Well-known atheists talk about feelings of “awe” and “the beauty of evolution” and so forth. In this way they cater for what people really want — a reason to be humble.

The same would-be unbelievers, when asked why (if there is no designer God) this world is exactly suited to our needs to survive . . . .

They reply with baroquely bizarre and super-saturatedly gullible theories — how there must be an infinite number of universes and this one we’re in just happens to be the one we’re in.

Good stuff.

While mocking us for postulating the “unnecessary” postulate of one God, they themselves postulate a mere multiple trillions of hypothesised universes.

* * *

Mr Abbott tries to stay in contact with reality by saying:

“Faith has influenced my life, but it does not, and I believe, should not, shape my politics.”

It’s a statement worth thinking about.

The Catholic Church claims to have contact, not only with “Faith”, but with the living God himself.

The Church, claiming to be custodian of the Truth (capital “T”), is obliged to offer the world a willingness to patiently lead by teaching and example.

The Church gets a bad press at present – partly deserved – but must persevere in its mission.

Involvement in politics is an indispensible part of that mission.