Religious Studies at UQ

UQ World Religions Experience Day heads to Rockhampton

UQ World Religions Experience Day heads to Rockhampton Year 11 and 12 Study of Religion students from Catholic colleges across the Rockhampton region recently took part in The University of Queensland’s World Religions Experience Day.

Gen Z is the first generation in history in which men are more religious than women. Why?

Gen Z is the first generation in history in which men are more religious than women. Why? For every generation over the last century, Australian women have been more religious than men. But these charts show gen Z is different.

Congratulations to Religious Studies 's Tom Aechtner, who, along with UQ Business School's Laura Ferris and Richard O'Quinn, was awarded a National Intelligence Discovery Grant on the project, "Mapping Religious and Sacred Ideals in Australian Pseudolaw Narratives." Only 10 NIDG projects were funded by the Australian Government in the 2026 round, for a total of $7.9 million.

RGS Grant - Grants Data Portal

From UQ Emeritus Professor Philip Almond: ‘Philistine’ is a byword for boorish ignorance – but the real Philistines were cultured. Who were they?

‘Philistine’ is a byword for boorish ignorance – but the real Philistines were cultured. Who were they? In modern times, the term “philistine” has generally been used by cultured or elite groups to describe an ignorant or uncultured person.

The Coming of the Light is celebrated in the Torres Strait on July 1 every year. Listen to Uncle Willie Wigness and Aunty Pauline Ah Wang on the Queensland Atlas of Religion.

The Coming of the Light is celebrated annually on 1 July in the Torres Strait and communities across Australia, commemorating the arrival of Christianity to the Torres Strait in 1871. In this oral history recorded for the Queensland Atlas of Religion, Aunty Pauline Ah Wang and Uncle Willie Wigness discuss their strong connection to the Waiben (Thursday Island) Anglican community, as well as sharing their thoughts and experiences relating to the Quetta Memorial Church and Island culture in the Torres Strait. Watch the oral history interview: https://qareligion.pulse.ly/hln70whrlv

Uncle Willie and Aunty Pauline were central driving forces of the 150th anniversary celebrations for The Coming of the Light to the Torres Strait in 2021.

The Queensland Atlas of Religion project is a partnership between State Library of Queensland and researchers from Religious Studies at UQ and History at UQ at the University of Queensland.

📸: Aunty Pauline Ah Wang and Uncle Willie Wigness, 2023

Keeping faith with the truth: Why artificial intelligence won’t make universities obsolete

Why AI won’t make universities obsolete - ABC Religion & Ethics In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV calls on universities to be places “where new generations can learn to seek and love the truth” — as the vice-chancellor of a Catholic university, I take this challenge personally.

World's Largest Study of Human Flourishing Opens Its Data to the Public. Across diverse cultures, religious participation is among the strongest predictors of well-being.

World's Largest Study of Human Flourishing Opens Its Data to the Public World's Largest Study of Human Flourishing Opens Its Data to the Public Baylor University and Harvard University release two waves of landmark dataset spanning 200,000 participants across 22 countries — no registration required by Baylor University Media & Public Relations April 8, 2026 (L to R) -...

Southern Baptist leadership downplays extent of sexual abuse scandals

Once roiled by sexual abuse issue, Southern Baptist leadership now downplays its extent The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention says that the issue of sexual abuse in the denomination has been “weaponized” and politicized. He's not alone.

Congratulations to our PhD graduate Paloma Muñoz Gómez, whose PhD thesis has appeared in reworked form as a monograph in Brill's Indological Library. Brilliant work, Paloma!

Yudhiṣṭhira, Salvation, and Selfless Action in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata "Yudhiṣṭhira, Salvation, and Selfless Action in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata" published on 29 Apr 2026 by Brill.

In India, The Catholic Church Becomes An Unlikely Sanctuary For Trans People

In India, The Catholic Church Becomes An Unlikely Sanctuary For Trans People The room is small — a modest space inside the parish in southern India. But when church leaders unveiled a dedicated Catholic Desk for transgender people there earlier this year, the gesture carried outsized weight.