Associate Professor
Alex Deagon

Biography

Dr Alex Deagon is an Associate Professor in the School of Law at QUT. He is an internationally recognised researcher in religious freedom.

Alex graduated from Griffith University with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Physics. His own Christian faith in conjunction with an interest in the interaction of Contemporary Philosophy, Theology and Legal Theory led him to commence a PhD with the Griffith Law School entitled "Using Christian Theology and Philosophy to Construct a Jurisprudence of Truth". The thesis was awarded without alteration in 2015, and received the Chancellor's Medal for outstanding excellence in the Doctor of Philosophy. The thesis was published as the book 'From Violence to Peace: Theology, Law and Community' in 2017 with Hart Publishing, Oxford. Alex's second book, 'A Principled Framework for the Autonomy of Religious Communities: Reconciling Freedom and Discrimination', was published in 2023 with Hart Publishing, Oxford. Alex is currently working on his third book, forthcoming with Routledge in 2026, which will draw on Christian Natural Law to provide a robust theoretical foundation for the idea of religious freedom.

Alex has research expertise in Theories of Law, Law and Theology, Law and Religion and Freedom of Religion. He is the founding co-editor of the Australian Journal of Law and Religion, a member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal for Religious Freedom, a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the International Institute for Religious Freedom, and a Board Member of Freedom For Faith. He has been engaged by an International Research Foundation to evaluate the quality, impact and standing of religious freedom research, acts as an expert assessor for the Australian Research Council, and has been an external examiner for PhD and Masters research in this and related areas.

Alex has been published in many prestigious national and international journals including:

• Law, Culture and the Humanities
• Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
• Oxford Journal of Law and Religion
• Journal of Law and Religion
• Political Theology
• Melbourne University Law Review
• University of New South Wales Law Journal
• Federal Law Review
• Monash University Law Review
• Griffith Law Review

He has been a peer reviewer for prestigious national and international academic presses and journals including:

• Oxford University Press
• Cambridge University Press
• Routledge
• Federation Press
• Law, Culture and the Humanities
• Journal of Law, Religion and State
• Journal of Law and Religion
• Journal of Church and State
• Monash University Law Review
• University of Western Australia Law Review
• Alternative Law Journal

He has also written articles for the London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog, the International Journal of Constitutional Law Blog, the International Center for Law and Religion Studies Blog, the Australian Public Law Blog (UNSW Law), Law and Religion Australia, and the Sydney Morning Herald.

Alex has been cited extensively by Commonwealth Law Reform Inquiries and Parliamentary Committees, including for example in the 2018-19 Reports on Religious Exemptions for Religious Educational Institutions by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committees. Alex's research was then cited in the proceedings of the Commonwealth Parliament by a Government Minister to support proposed Government amendments to the Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill. Alex was also cited over 30 times in the Australian Law Reform Commission's Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws 2023 Report.

Alex commenced as a Lecturer in Law at Queensland University of Technology in 2014 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018 and Associate Professor in 2023. He has completed a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  Alex was invited to be a Judge of the Global Undergraduate Awards (Law Panel), one of only 15 academics internationally to be on the panel. He has lectured in Theories of Law and Constitutional Law.  Alex has presented his research at a number of national and international conferences:

• Religious Freedom in Australia: Towards a Principled Framework, given at the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies Conference, University of Notre Dame, USA, October 2024.
• Comparing Free Exercise Jurisprudence in the Federal Constitutions of the United States and Australia, given at the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies Conference, University of Notre Dame, USA, October 2024.
• The Faithful Person as the Legal Person, given at the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Conference, Deakin University, Melbourne, July 2024.
• Law, Religion and Sustainability, given at the Faith and Spirituality Research Symposium, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, July 2024.
• The Theological Nature of Traditional 'Secular' Natural Law, given at the Theology and Jurisprudence Symposium, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, February 2024.
• Reconciling Religious Freedom and Equality in Australia, given at the Freedom For Faith National Conference, Village Church Annandale, Sydney, November 2023.
• What's good about religious freedom?, keynote address given at City Legal, Brisbane, March 2023.
• Christian Natural Law and a Foundation for Religious Freedom: Love, the True and the Good, given at the Theology and Jurisprudence Symposium, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, February 2023.
• Reconciling Freedom and Equality for Peaceful Coexistence: On the Need to Reframe the Exemptions in the Sex Discrimination Act, given at the Religious Freedom, Sexuality and Gender Identity Colloquium, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, October 2022.
• Framing a Post-Liberal Christian Approach to Reconciling Religious Freedom and Discrimination, given at the Post-Liberal Christian Jurisprudence Workshop, Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence, University of Sydney, Sydney, April 2022.
• State (Non-)Neutrality and Conceptions of Religious Freedom, given at the ICON AUS/NZ Constitutional Theory Plenary Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, April 2022.
• Creating Peaceful Coexistence through Virtue: A Theological Approach to Institutional Religious Freedom, Equality and the First Amendment, given at the Beyond ‘Defensive Crouch’ Religious Freedom Conference, George Mason University, Virginia, March 2022.
• The Law of Love and Freedom of Religion in a Pandemic, given at the Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia Conference, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, December 2021.
• The Future of Constitutional Support for Religious Institutional Autonomy: Comparative Perspectives (USA and AUS), Panel Chair and Panelist at The Global Summit, January 2021.
• Human Rights and Freedom of Religion, Seminar at Genesis Christian College, Brisbane, August 2020.
• Understanding Religious Freedom in Australia from a Christian Perspective, keynote address given at 3rd Annual Church and State Summit, Brisbane, February 2020.
• Law and Truth in the Trial of Christ, keynote address given at City Legal, Brisbane, February 2020.
• Back to the Future: 'Pagan' Violence and Augustinian Peace, given at the Australian Association for the Study of Religion Annual Conference: Religion and Violence, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, December 2019.
• Is Religious Liberty Loving?, given at the Third Annual Religious Liberty Conference: Religion and Inclusivity, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, November 2019.
• Religious Freedom in the Workplace and the Folau Effect, given at the Freedom of Religion: Challenges and Opportunities Colloquium, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, November 2019.
• Religious Freedom in the Workplace and the Folau Effect, keynote address given at the Christian Lawyers Society Annual Dinner, Ann St Presbyterian Church, Brisbane, November 2019.
• Secularism(s) and the Place of Religious Schools, keynote address given at the Society of Christian Educators Gathering, St Andrews Cathedral School, Sydney, November 2019.
• Folau and Religious Speech in the Workplace, keynote address given at City Legal, Silks Cafe, Sydney, October 2019.
• Religious Freedom in Australia Book Launch, Presentation given at the Connor Court Bookroom, Brisbane, October 2019.
• The Religious Discrimination Bill, Seminar, given at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, October 2019.
• Theological and Legal Foundations of Freedom of Religion and Speech in Australia: Current Issues, Seminar, given at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, October 2019.
• Is Religious Freedom Loving? Seminar, given at Shore Hope Presbyterian Church, Redland City, August 2019.
• The Law of Love as the Principles of Civility: Secular Translation or Religious Contribution?, given at the Law and Love Workshop, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, July 2019.
• Reconciliation and Recognition: A Christian Perspective on Indigenous Australians and Constitutional Change, given at the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference, University of Sydney, Sydney, July 2019.
• The Lawyer's Question: Who is my Neighbour?, keynote address given at City Legal, Tattersalls Club, Brisbane, May 2019.
• Religious Schools, Religious Vendors and Refusing Services after Ruddock: Diversity or Discrimination? given at the Religious Freedom After Ruddock Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, April 2019.
• The Name of God in a Constitution: Meaning, Democracy and Political Solidarity, given at the Queensland University of Technology Law Faculty Research Seminar Series, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, February 2019.
• “It’s Not Just Courtesy, It’s the Law”: (Not) Giving Way to Alienation, keynote address given at the Western Australian Legal Theory Association, Sheridan College, Perth, October 2018.
• The Virtues of Public Religion, keynote address given at the Australasian Religious Press Association Annual Conference, Brisbane, September 2018.
• Equal Voice Liberalism and Free Public Religion: Some Legal Implications, given at the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy Annual Conference, Bond University, Gold Coast, July 2018.
• A Christian Framework for Religious Diversity in Political Discourse, given at the Freedom for Faith 2018 National Conference, Parliament House of New South Wales, Sydney, May 2018.
• Towards a Constitutional Definition of Religion: Challenges and Prospects, given at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Conference: Creating the Constitutional Space for Other Fundamental Freedoms, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, February 2018.
• Turning your PhD into a Book, given at the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Law, Brisbane, September 2017.
• The Place of Religion in the Australian Democracy, given at the Queensland University of Technology Law Faculty Research Seminar Series, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, July 2017.
• Collaborating with Students to Create Assessment in Law: A Case Study, given at the Higher Education Research Network Symposium, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, November 2016.
• Facilitating Collaboration in Physical and Virtual Spaces, given at the Queensland University of Technology Law School Learning and Teaching Showcase, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, November 2016.
• Secularism and Religious Freedom in Australia: Political Engagement and Constitutional Culture, given at the Queensland University of Technology Law Faculty Research Seminar Series, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, July 2016.
• Shifting Understandings: Radical Orthodoxy and the Future of the Secular State, given at the Queensland University of Technology Law Faculty Research Seminar Series, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, October 2015.
• Sovereignty, Surveillance and Speeding: Considering the Panopticon as a Method of Policing, given at the International Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Conference, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, July 2015.
• What is a “Christian” Jurisprudence?, given at the Centre for the Study of Science, Religion and Society Write Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, July 2014.
• "It's Not the Jedi Way!": Moral Ambivalence and Delivering the 'Good' in Star Wars, given at the Law, Literature and the Humanities Association of Australasia Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, December 2013.
• Popper or Kuhn: Truth and the Progress of Science, given at the Perspectives on Progress Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, November 2013.
• Constituting Religion After Williams: The False Dichotomy of Theocracy and Secularism, given at the After Williams Colloquium, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, October 2013.
• Using Christian Theology and Philosophy to Construct a Jurisprudence of Truth (Confirmation Paper), given at the Emerging Scholars Colloquium, Griffith Law School, Griffith University, Gold Coast, February 2013.

Orcid ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6384-2083 https://qut.academia.edu/AlexDeagon