Current Research

A History of Religious Freedom in Australia: 1788 - Present

This project aims to be a comprehensive history of the idea of religious liberty in Australia, from 1788 to the present. It is an intellectual and cultural history which will unearth the development of ideas about religious liberty, across the spectrums of ethnicity, social class, and religion, including those who identified as non-religious. The hope is that the knowledge this project produces will provide the Australian public with the resources for an enriched discussion of the significance and implications of religious freedom, for both religious and non-religious people.

An Invitation to the Historic Christian Life

This project aims to be an introduction and invitation to the historically rich Christian life. It is a book to give to new Christians and non-Christians searching for what Christians believe and how to live as Christians, as well as for Christians who want to consider how to more deeply live their faith rooted in the history of the Christian people.

Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an Ahistoric Age

How can Christians engage meaningfully with history? In an age underpinned by the idea that life is about self-invention and fulfilment, secular Western culture holds that the past has nothing to teach us. In the attempt to appear relevant, the church has largely embraced this ahistoric worldview by jettisoning the historic ideas and practices of Christian formation. But this has had unintended consequences, leaving us unmoored from our history and struggling to live distinctive Christian lives. Christians know less than ever about history and are losing the ability to grapple with the ethical complexities of the past. Rootless and existentially bored, we have forgotten how to inhabit our own story as God’s people. Drawing upon her expertise as an academic historian, and her experience as an atheist who has become a Christian, Irving-Stonebraker examines what history is, why it matters, and argues that engaging the past holds enormous riches for Christian formation and discipleship.