ISCAST’s 15th Biennial Conference on Science and Christianity
Entangled Worlds:
Seeking Understanding Through
Faith and Science
COSAC 2026
About the Conference
A space for robust and generous dialogue
COSAC 2026 will explore the vibrant history and prospects of the dialogue between science and religion.
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. These developments reexamine old assumptions to connect rigorous scholarship with the lived experiences of churches, professionals, and the wider community.
The conference offers a space for robust, generous discussion. Whether you are a scholar, a church leader, an educator, or a curious layperson, this conference invites you to reflect on enduring questions:
Supported by
Keynote Speakers
Meet the speakers
Australia
Peter Harrison
Peter Harrison is a Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, Australia, and Emeritus Professor of History and Philosophy at the University of Queensland. Before joining Notre Dame he was Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. From 2014–2019 he was an Australian Laureate Fellow, and prior to this, the Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre at the University of Oxford.
Aotearoa New Zealand
Nicola Hoggard Creegan
A systematic theologian at Laidlaw College in Auckland, Nicola Hoggard Creegan brings together evolutionary biology, animal theology, and the problem of evil. Her book Animal Suffering and the Problem of Evil asks what God’s presence in a suffering natural world means for Christian faith and what science can teach theology about the creatures we share the world with.
United Kingdom
Nick Spencer
Senior fellow at Theos, a UK religion and society think tank, Nick Spencer writes and speaks on the relationship between faith, science, and public life. His Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion is a landmark challenge to the tired “conflict narrative,” a richly researched account of how intertwined these two ways of knowing have always been.
Australia
Paul Tyson
Honorary senior fellow at the University of Queensland, Paul Tyson is a philosophical theologian whose work rethinks the metaphysical assumptions underlying modern science. In A Christian Theology of Science, he draws on Christian Platonism and the sociology of knowledge to ask how faith and science might move beyond dialogue towards genuine mutual transformation.
More speakers to be announced
Call for Papers
Contribute to the conversation
We invite academics and church leaders from the Antipodes and across the globe to share their research and perspectives. Our goal is to think together about the “entangled worlds” of science and faith, marked by a spirit of generous listening and a shared journey towards God’s kingdom.
Alongside the main theme, the conference also welcomes papers on any relevant topic at the intersection of faith and science.
View Call for PapersStay Updated
Be the first to know when registrations open
Registration opens mid-2026. Sign up to receive conference updates, speaker announcements, and programme details.