God and Religion in the Australian Constitution, with Dr Ben Saunders

The Political Animals

How did "Almighty God" come to be mentioned in the preamble to the Australian Constitution? Why and how did a whole provision (s116) find its way into the constitution setting out the Commonwealth's legislative powers in relation to religion? And what are the states' powers to establish religion and pass other laws relating to religion? Jonathan discusses these questions and much more with constitutional scholar Dr Ben Saunders in this episode of The Political Animals.

Ben Saunders is an Associate Professor at Deakin Law School. His principal areas of research interest are constitutional law, the history of federation, and law and religion. Ben also has over ten years of professional experience working in private practice and advising the Victorian and Commonwealth governments on constitutional law and human rights.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

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