ISCAST and Freedom for Faith invite you to a one-day conference on religious freedom in modern Australia.

Livestream and in-person tickets available

This is not simply a conference about religious freedom in the abstract.

It is designed to equip Christians to understand the pressures already emerging around public debate, online speech, gender and sexuality, religious expression and the law – and to think carefully about how we respond.

We have an impressive group of speakers joining us.

Nick Spencer, senior fellow at UK think tank Theos, will examine how secularism and liberalism can be used to exclude religious voices from public debate – and how Christians can make the case for religious freedom in a genuinely plural society.

Margaret Chambers, research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, will look at the proposed Digital Duty of Care and the risks it poses for lawful religious speech online.

The Hon Christopher Beale KC, former Victorian Supreme Court justice, will examine gender theory, law and the challenges they present for Christians and Christian organisations.

Mark Sneddon, lawyer and Freedom for Faith board member, will look at growing legal restrictions on religious expression, including conversion practices and vilification laws.

Mike Southon, executive director of Freedom for Faith, will give an update on the major religious freedom issues currently before us and opportunities for political engagement in Victoria ahead of the state election.

The day will conclude with a panel chaired by ISCAST executive director Chris Mulherin.

There is a lot here to wrestle with.

Our hope is that people leave not simply more aware of the challenges, but better equipped to respond – clearly, faithfully, and confidently.

Details

• Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
• Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Location: Thomas Carr Centre, Catholic Theological College, 278 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne VIC, Australia
• In person and livestreamed
• Tickets: events.humanitix.com/fff-melbourne-26

Hear more from Nick Spencer

A week later, Nick Spencer turns from religious freedom to genetics. If we can alter ourselves, should we? And what, if anything, can faith add to that question?

Join Nick and Peter Harrison, former Oxford professor of science and religion, for a public lecture on Friday 6 November, 7 p.m., at Werner Brodbeck Hall in the Melbourne CBD. After their talks, James Carleton of ABC Radio National’s God Forbid will moderate a conversation and take questions from the audience.

The evening is part of ISCAST’s fifteenth biennial Conference on Science and Christianity, which runs 6–8 November. Saturday and Sunday will be held at Catholic Theological College and online. The conference brings together keynote addresses and more than thirty research papers on Christian faith and the sciences.

Learn more or register at cosac.iscast.org.