Mark Spencer, Director of Public Policy at Christian Schools Australia, joins Jonathan to discuss the difficult cultural environment in which Christian schools now must operate. They cover the history, nature and purpose of Christian schools in Australia, the tension between discipleship and mission, the way state-based curricula are taught from a Christian perspective, the place of Christian education in secular Australia, the various controversies surrounding Christian schools, particularly in relation to LGBTIQ issues, the fiasco of the recently failed religious freedom bill and the growing attacks on Christian schools from activists. The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is Assistant Director of the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society at Charles Sturt University, and author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality. You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.