COSAC 2026 · 6–8 November · Melbourne and online
Program
COSAC 2026 opens with a public lecture on Friday evening at Werner Brodbeck Hall, 156 Collins Street, in the Melbourne CBD. On Saturday and Sunday, the conference moves to Catholic Theological College in East Melbourne for keynote addresses and concurrent paper sessions, which you can also join online via Zoom. During the paper sessions, several presenters will deliver papers at the same time in different rooms, so you can choose the ones that interest you most. Saturday and Sunday sessions are recorded, and registered attendees can watch them after the conference.
All times are Melbourne time (AEDT). Program as at 8 October 2026. Sessions and presenters may still change.
Friday 6 November
Public Lecture
Werner Brodbeck Hall, ground floor, Assembly Hall Building, 156 Collins Street, Melbourne. In person only. Included with in-person registration, or book a lecture ticket.
- 7–7:10 p.m.Welcome
- 7:10–8:10 p.m.Talks by Peter Harrison and Nick Spencer
- 8:20–8:40 p.m.Conversation with the speakers, moderated by James Carleton
- 8:40–9 p.m.Questions from the audience
- 9–9:30 p.m.Supper and bookstall
Saturday 7 November
Keynotes and Papers
Catholic Theological College, 278 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, and online.
- 9–9:15 a.m.Welcome and conference opening
- 9:15–10:15 a.m.Keynote: Nicola Hoggard CreeganEntangled Worlds: Science, Theology and the Disruption of Mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa
- 10:15–10:45 a.m.Morning tea
- 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.Concurrent paper sessions 1
- 12:15–1:15 p.m.Lunch
- 1:15–2:15 p.m.Keynote: Peter HarrisonSeeking Understanding Through Faith—and Science?
- 2:15–3:15 p.m.Plenary session, moderated by Chris Mulherin
- 3:15–3:45 p.m.Afternoon tea
- 3:45–5:15 p.m.Concurrent paper sessions 2
- 5:15–5:30 p.m.Wrap-up and notices
Concurrent Paper Sessions 1
Saturday · 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Each paper is a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Online marks a presenter joining by video. In-person attendees watch them in the room as usual.
Room 1
Theological Foundations of Science
10:45 a.m.
Charles Bruce Riding
Empirical Science and Religion Are “Blood Brothers”—Both Founded on Both Facts and Faith
11:15 a.m.
Matthew McTeigue
Entangled Worlds and the Renewal of Nature: Theology’s Role in Post-Galilean Science
11:45 a.m.
Ian Barns
Contra NOMA: Articulating the Theological Foundations of Scientific Inquiry
Room 2
Embodiment, Medicine, and Human Life
10:45 a.m.
Samuel McKee Online
Theological Entanglement of Multicellularity, Evolution, and Cancer
11:15 a.m.
Christian Tirtha
Beyond Brainhood: Embodied Personhood, Neuroscience, and Christian Anthropology
11:45 a.m.
Andrew Sloane
Hope-Filled Ends: Medicine, Disability and the Life to Come
Room 3
Education and Formation
10:45 a.m.
Reynand Dumala-on
Nature as Moral Educator: How Scientific Practice Shapes Moral Formation
11:15 a.m.
Sean Cleary
Christian Students’ Engagement with Evolutionary Science: Are They Scientifically and Faithfully Prepared?
11:45 a.m.
Isaac Morris
Theologising Our Academic Fields: A Practical Process for Building Field-Specific Theological Frameworks
Room 4
Historical Perspectives
10:45 a.m.
Doru Costache Online
Late Antique Christian Insights: The Integration of Theology, Science, and Philosophy at the School of Nisibis (6th and 7th Centuries)
11:15 a.m.
Max Vodola
“Let us avoid another Galileo case”: Vatican II (1962–65) and the Catholic Church Coming to Terms with the Modern World
11:45 a.m.
John Long
The Relevance of Stanley Jaki to the Science-Religion Dialogue
Concurrent Paper Sessions 2
Saturday · 3:45–5:15 p.m.
Each paper is a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Online marks a presenter joining by video. In-person attendees watch them in the room as usual.
Room 1
Science and Faith
4:15 p.m.
Antonios Kaldas
Beyond the Limits: Can One Have a Personal Relationship with the God of the Philosophers or of Science?
4:45 p.m.
Andrew Jackson Online
“Render unto Science What Belongs to Science”: The One Overlapping Magisterium of the Logos According to St Maximus the Confessor
Room 2
AI, Transhumanism, and Human Identity
3:45 p.m.
Bruce Blackshaw Online
Meaning in the Age of AI
4:15 p.m.
Paul Gallagher
Eying AI’s Superhuman Impact, Through the Lens of a Researcher with Disability
4:45 p.m.
Jonathan Gunnell
Human Limits Redefined: Formation, Deformation, and Christian Anthropology in an Age of Transhumanism
Room 3
Ecotheology, Country, and the Anthropocene
3:45 p.m.
Mick Pope
Symbiosis and the God-World Relationship: Mass Extinction and the Theology of Jürgen Moltmann
4:15 p.m.
Naomi Wolfe and Mick Pope
From Creation Care to Caring for Country: Aboriginal Theology and Biblical Hermeneutics
4:45 p.m.
Danie Veldsman
On Theological Anthropology in the Advent of the Anthropocene
Room 4
Space, Cosmology, and Christian Theology
3:45 p.m.
Jonathan Clarke
Visiting Mars, Our Planetary Neighbour: Why, How, and Should We?
4:15 p.m.
Steven Hobbs
Mars Exploration and Christian Theology: Science, Stewardship, and the Search for Life
4:45 p.m.
Robert Booth Wiles
The Logos, Algebra and the Universe: Constructing the Cosmos Through Information Mechanics
Sunday 8 November
Keynotes and Papers
Catholic Theological College, 278 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, and online.
- 8–8:30 a.m.Optional service of worship and prayer in the chapel
- 9–10 a.m.Concurrent paper sessions 3
- 10–10:30 a.m.Morning tea
- 10:30–11:30 a.m.Keynote: Nick SpencerEntangled Humans: What Science Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Ourselves
- 11:30 a.m.–noonPlenary session
- Noon–1 p.m.Lunch
- 1–1:30 p.m.Concurrent paper sessions 4
- 1:30–2:30 p.m.Keynote: Paul TysonNo Conflict? Thomas Huxley’s Scientific Naturalism and the De-Christianisation of the West
- 2:30–2:45 p.m.Thanks and conference close
- 2:45–3 p.m.Afternoon tea and depart
Concurrent Paper Sessions 3
Sunday · 9–10 a.m.
Each paper is a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Online marks a presenter joining by video. In-person attendees watch them in the room as usual.
Room 1
Contextual and Interdisciplinary Theology
9 a.m.
Jacob Chengwei Feng Online
Beyond the Bridge, Across the Globe: A Decentralised “Starlink” Model for Science-Engaged Theology and Its Chinese Qi-Pneumatological Node
9:30 a.m.
Christopher White
Cross-Disciplinary Communication: The Economics and Christian Theology Example
Room 2
Social Science
9 a.m.
Joanne Watt Online
A Social Science Response to Penal Substitution Atonement
Room 3
Scripture, Theology, and the Sciences
9 a.m.
Simon Richard Wayte
God’s Action in the World: Entanglement and Choice
9:30 a.m.
Andrew J. Brown
“I Will Never Again Curse the Ground”: An Interpretive Crux, Its Memory Freight and Its Theological Influence
Room 4
Astronomy
9 a.m.
Jun Yi (Kevin) Koay
Science, Faith, and Justice Through the Lens of Astronomy and Asian Contextual Theologies
9:30 a.m.
Jeffery Tallon
The Role of Astronomy in Dating and Confirming Certain Key Biblical Events
Concurrent Paper Sessions 4
Sunday · 1–1:30 p.m.
Each paper is a 20-minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Online marks a presenter joining by video. In-person attendees watch them in the room as usual.
Room 1
Divine Action
1 p.m.
Neil Bergmann
Martin Luther and Schrödinger’s Cat
Room 2
Humanity and Planetary Futures
1 p.m.
Lisa H. Sideris
Fractured Universalism: Cosmic Evolution, Planetary Futures, and the Religious Genealogies of Silicon Valley
Room 3
Emergence, Humanity, and Theology
1 p.m.
Ross H. McKenzie
Emergence Undermines Scientism and Affirms Our Humanity and the Value of Theology
Room 4
Cosmos and Mathematical Perspectives
1 p.m.
John Howell Online
Hilbert Space and Mathematical Language