When
Friday 6th Nov 2026 @ 7:00 pm –
Sunday 8th Nov 2026 @ 5:00 pm
Where
Catholic Theological College (Saturday and Sunday)
ISCAST’s 15th biennial Conference on Science and Christianity will be held in Melbourne from 6 to 8 November 2026.
Scholars have long debated how science and faith meet. Some see them as fundamentally unintelligible to one another. Others see a deeply fruitful partnership where different approaches offer complementary insights into the nature of reality.
Today, new thinking is breathing fresh life into the field. Movements like “science-engaged theology” and work described as “after science and religion” are renewing the conversation, reexamining old assumptions to connect rigorous scholarship with the lived experiences of churches, professionals, and the wider community.
Whether you are a scholar, a church leader, an educator, or a curious layperson, COSAC 2026 invites you to reflect on enduring questions:
- How does our faith inform our understanding of the natural world?
- How can scientific discovery enrich the life of the church?
- In a fractured world, how can we foster a dialogue that is intellectually serious, pastorally attentive, and publicly engaged?
Keynote speakers
This year’s confirmed keynote speakers are:
- Professor Peter Harrison (Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age)
- Dr Nicola Hoggard Creegan (Animal Suffering and the Problem of Evil)
- Dr Nick Spencer (Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion)
- Dr Paul Tyson (A Christian Theology of Science)
Attend
Registration is now open, and early bird rates are available until Friday 4 September 2026.
You can attend in person at Catholic Theological College in East Melbourne, or join the Saturday and Sunday sessions online from anywhere. Both options include access to the recordings afterwards. More information on the Friday night lecture is coming soon.
The call for papers closed on 31 July. Submitted abstracts are now under review, and the conference program will be announced in the coming weeks.
Visit the COSAC 2026 website for full details and to register.