The NZCIS Conference on Freedom was postponed twice due to Covid restrictions, and happened on 11-12 February 2022. Topic: ‘Freedom in Theology, Science and Culture‘.

The NZCIS Conference on Freedom was postponed twice due to Covid restrictions, and happened on 11-12 February 2022. Topic: ‘Freedom in Theology, Science and Culture‘.

Our biennial lecture Conference, 11-12 February 2022. It happened via Hybrid, so both in person at Maclaurin Chapel, Auckland, and online.

Freedom, free will and liberty are much contested ideas in philosophy, theology, science and law.
Newer discoveries in neuroscience and animal studies have only exacerbated older tensions.
Scholars from New Zealand, Australia and the UK will presented papers on Freedom.

Speakers and topics:


Dr. Nicola Hoggard Creegan (Co-Director, NZCIS) Three Movements of Freedom


Prof. John McClure (Psychology, VUW) So We Don’t Have Free Will: The Argument from (Social) Psychology.


Dr. Christa McKirland (Lecturer Systematic Theology, Carey) Do We Need Autonomy?


Gray Manicom (PhD Cand., in Mathematics, UoA) Would you listen to a talk on mathematics if you were free to do otherwise?


Dr. Cameron Surrey (Chaplain, Newman Hall) Freedom, Fate, and the Fall


Dr. John Owens SM (Lecturer in Philosophy, Catholic Theological College) Freedom and Personal Life.


Jaimee Poole (PhD Cand., Otago University) Condemned to be Free: An Existentialist Vision of the Problem of Freedom … on Satre.


Dr. Yael Cameron (Lecturer, AUT) An Encounter with Freedom (and the Whale) and the Biblical Text
on Behalf of the Southern Ocean – “Twists and Turns in the Antarctic”.


Martin Samson (PhD Cand., Flinders University) The Evolution of Consciousness and the Evolution of Freedom: Love and Morality, A Physiology of Freedom.


Margaret Bedggood TSSF (Honorary Professor of Law, Waikato) Searching for ‘Life In Larger Freedom’: A Human Rights Perspective.

Margaret’s references include UN Charters:


D.T.  Everhart (PhD Cand., St Andrews) Freedom For the Other: On Christian Freedom and Group Ontology.
Andy speaks about freedom in terms of personal autonomy and caring for community.

You may also like

New Perspectives on Evolution & Christianity

11 June - 23 July 2026 | The old formula of evolution by natural selection is undergoing pressure. The idea that all change over many aeons occurred through random mutation followed by the survival of the fittest has been modified, expanded upon, and, in some ways, upended in recent decades. Convergence and constraints, evo devo, the ubiquity of altruism in the mammalian tree, cooperation as a driver of development, and epigenetics are among the emphases that subtly change our paradigm of evolution. In this six-part series, the ISCAST-NZCIS Conversations bring together international biologists and theologians to highlight newer understandings of evolution and their repercussions for theology.
Pentecost: The Spirit of Nature

Pentecost: The Spirit of Nature

Sermon given by Nicola Hoggard Creegan on Pentecost at Cityside Baptist, May 24, 2026 Image by Mandy Henry
Ask Me Anything: Morning Tea with Dr Nicola Hoggard Creegan

Ask Me Anything: Morning Tea with Dr Nicola Hoggard Creegan

15 June 2026 | Do you work or study in science and find yourself wondering how that fits with faith? Come along for a relaxed and delicious morning tea and ask whatever's on your mind. All welcome to this free event!
No results found.