Muriel Porter
Encyclopedia
Muriel Lylie Porter OAM
(born 15 May 1948) is an Australia
n journalist based in Melbourne, Victoria
. She is a frequent contributor to The Age
newspaper
and mostly writes about issues concerning the Anglican Church of Australia
in which she is a prominent layperson. She promotes liberal theological views and, as such, is a critic of traditional and evangelical Christianity, which she often accuses of being fundamentalist. She is also critical of megachurches and is a high profile advocate of the ordination of women
, homosexual unions and homosexual clergy. She was involved in the formation of a highly controversial Anglican submission recommending abortion be legalised in Victoria. She is also the author of several books, including the controversial The New Puritans: the rise of fundamentalism in the Anglican Church.
to Richard John Carter and Thelma Edith Richards. She was educated at Riverside Girls High School
in Gladesville
, the University of New England
, the Australian National University
, the Australian Catholic University
and the University of Melbourne
.
as a cadet at the Sydney Morning Herald and then worked for a number of different newspapers including the Cambridge Evening News
.
More recently, Porter was a member of staff at RMIT University
in the journalism
program.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 15 May 1948) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist based in Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. She is a frequent contributor to The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
and mostly writes about issues concerning the Anglican Church of Australia
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
in which she is a prominent layperson. She promotes liberal theological views and, as such, is a critic of traditional and evangelical Christianity, which she often accuses of being fundamentalist. She is also critical of megachurches and is a high profile advocate of the ordination of women
Ordination of women
Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated . The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity...
, homosexual unions and homosexual clergy. She was involved in the formation of a highly controversial Anglican submission recommending abortion be legalised in Victoria. She is also the author of several books, including the controversial The New Puritans: the rise of fundamentalism in the Anglican Church.
Early life
Muriel Porter was born in Sydney, New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
to Richard John Carter and Thelma Edith Richards. She was educated at Riverside Girls High School
Riverside Girls High School
Riverside Girls High School is a secondary, public, day school for girls, located in Gladesville, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1934, celebrating its 70th Anniversary in 2004...
in Gladesville
Gladesville, New South Wales
Gladesville is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the Municipality of Hunter's Hill and is part of the Northern Suburbs area.Gladesville prides...
, the University of New England
University of New England, Australia
The University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....
, the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, the Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University is a national public university. It has six campuses and offers programs in five faculties throughout Australia.-History:...
and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
.
Career
Porter began a career in journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
as a cadet at the Sydney Morning Herald and then worked for a number of different newspapers including the Cambridge Evening News
Cambridge Evening News
The Cambridge News is a British daily newspaper published each weekday and on Saturdays. It is distributed from its parent company Cambridge Newspapers Ltd's Milton base which was opened in 1991 as a print works, and became the Evening News main operational hub in 1998...
.
More recently, Porter was a member of staff at RMIT University
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
in the journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
program.
Publications
- Beyond the twelve: women disciples in the Gospels (1989)
- Women in the church: the great ordination debate in Australia (1989)
- Land of the spirit?: the Australian religious experience (1990)
- Sex, marriage and the church : patterns of change (1996)
- Sex, power & the clergy (2003)
- The new puritans: the rise of fundamentalism in the Anglican Church (2006)