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This article argues for a broader sociological conception of religion. Religion includes practices that engage with this world in rich and complex ways alongside experiences of transcendence. Religion encompasses a broad palette of aesthetic and emotional experiences that include, but are not confined to, solemnity and beauty. Religious moral ontologies can be both pluralist and dualist. The aesthetic turn in contemporary religion is described, noting associations with individualism, and pluralistic moral ontologies. The concept of pluralistic moral ontology is developed drawing on Nietzsche's analysis of aesthetics, Carl Einstein's examination of the relationship of aesthetics to myth and ritual, and a discussion of tragedy in classical Greece. Empirically, the role of aesthetics is manifest in a number of contemporary ethnographies of religion that emphasise the centrality of practice and performance to religion. The film trilogy The Lord of the Rings provides an example of the link between aesthetic experience of myth and pluralistic moral ontologies.

This article argues that the focus on the harm and stigma experienced by LGBTQ+ Christians misrepresents the complexity of the experience of many LGBTQ+ Christians, many of whom report affirmation and self-acceptance. A national representative survey indicates 5.5% of all Australians, 2.9% of Christians, and 8.4% of those with no religion identify their sexuality as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 'other'. LGB+ Christians appear to be distributed through all large Christian denominations. A second non-random national online survey indicates that many LGBTQ+ Christians report both self-acceptance and acceptance in their Christian community. While many LGBTQ+ Christians experience significant discrimination in Christian contexts, the often reported incompatibility of Christianity with LGBTQ+ sexual and gender identities is only one part of the story. There are significant sectors of Australian Christianity that are welcoming of LGBTQ+ people. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ people who remain Christians are often deeply committed to their faith.

Australian religious conservatives continue to argue that religiously affiliated schools should be able to discriminate based on the sexuality and/or gender identity of students. We argue that this discussion fails to adequately consider the serious harms that discrimination against LGBTQ+ educators has on LGBTQ+ and questioning students. The article uses data from an Australian qualitative study examining the experience of LGBTQ+ educators in religiously affiliated organisations. We describe how heteronormative/cisnormative discourses and discriminatory practices toward LGBTQ+ educators have a direct negative impact on LGBTQ+ students. Even in relatively inclusive schools, the heteronormative and cisnormative climate of the schools is damaging, not only for educators but also for LGBTQ+ students. These serious harms need to be given greater consideration in evaluating the arguments for discriminatory practices in religiously affiliated schools funded by the government to provide education to the general Australian population.