I’ve been watching Neighbours for quite a while and I don’t remember a character who has talked about being a Christian. Now there is a priest. He had lost his memory while developing a romantic relationship and then he remembered who he is - a priest. The girl in the relationship talks a lot about having to compete with God and he’s trying to figure out whether to pursue the relationship or remain a priest.
For many years there have basically constantly been gay characters. There have been a few different long term gay relationships involving the main characters. Sometimes there were people who were against homosexuality though. There has also been a lesbian relationship but now one of them is in a heterosexual relationship.
Neighbours is on at 6:30pm and is rated “G” (for General) so perhaps some children watch it.
On the other hand Australia hasn’t been able to pass any gay marriage legislation and I think the major parties are generally against it while in the U.S. they have gay marriage laws.
If the Gay Marriage laws had been a hot topic issue ten or twenty years ago, Australia would’ve been one of the first and loudest to enact them. See the establishment of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for example.
Yet the last couple of Governments have been really squirrelly on the issue, suggesting to me there’s behind-the-scenes pressure from some dodgy Christian lobby. Tony Abbot not into it, fair enough, but Julia Gillard should’ve been open to it. I don’t know Turnbull’s stance.
BTW about 20 years ago high school kids would only “come out” after they’d finished school (and I know a large number of these including some of my closest friends). I remember homophobic graffiti at a very liberal university (socialists ran the student council) and in the university newsletter an anonymous writer only came out at the end.
BTW in Big Brother Australia the gay housemates usually were voted out fairly quickly (after the most annoying housemates were voted out). Though in 2012 a gay housemate finally won…
Off the top of my head I cannot think of an overly Christian character in an Australian soap or serial drama.
Amnesiac priests, nuns who are not what they seem and the odd randy pastor are the best you’ll get. In both real life and TV we don’t have nearly as many of the wide-eyed zealot Christians such as have been constantly interviewed recently backing Trump.
Anecdotally it’s still not easy coming out at homosexual as a school kid, esp males, but now at least many parents, teachers, fellow students will be relaxed about it, and anti-bullying is there and likely to be enforced. If depiction on Neighbours helps stop one suicide or gay bashing then it’s doing good.
Was The Thorn Bird miniseries made in Australia or just placed there? It’s ancient, and I guess you could call the Chamberlain character “a randy pastor” but hey…
I don’t know how long you have been watching Neighbours (I haven’t seen it in over 15 years) but when I was growing up, there were at least a few of the older characters who were prominently religious. Harold Bishop and Mrs Mangel to name the two which come off the top of my head.
Can’t remember any gay characters from the dim and distant past of Erinsborough though, now that you mention int.