Simon Kennedy on “Christianity in Australia”

In June, the Tuesday Dialogue is privileged to welcome Simon Kennedy.  

Simon cites one of Australia's most well-known historians, Manning Clark, who wrote that the Enlightenment, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism were the great influences on Australian culture and society. 

Recent historical scholarship shows that he was right, that Christianity has had an unquestionably large influence on the shaping of our country. However, as recent census data shows, the number of Christian adherents is falling rapidly. Christian churches, once prominent public institutions, are declining in their influence in public life.

This raises two different questions that Simon will explore with Dialogue attendees. The first is historical: what is the meaning of Australia's Christian heritage for today? The second relates is more contemporary: what is the role of Christianity and Christian institutions in Australia?

Simon Kennedy is an intellectual historian of Christianity, who focuses on the intersections between religion, law, and political thought. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, based in the T. C. Beirne School of Law. He is also a Non-resident Fellow at the Danube Institute in Budapest. From mid-2025, he will be a Research Fellow at Alphacrucis University College.