Australian Jurists and Christianity Edited by Geoff Lindsay and Wayne Hudson

Australian Jurists and Christianity provides new perspectives on the relationship between law and religion in Australia. It claims that the relationship between law and religion was more significant in Australia than has been suggested. Specifically, it suggests that Christianity was a significant influence on Australian jurists, both as public figures and as makers of Australian law.

The volume does this by means of case studies of some 24 leading Australian jurists: Lachlan Macquarie, James Stephen, Richard Bourke, John Hubert Plunkett, George Higinbotham, Samuel Griffith, Inglis Clark, Henry Bournes Higgins, Alfred Deakin, Edith Cowan, Lord Atkin, Robert Menzies, WJV Windeyer, Roma Mitchell, Gough Whitlam, Ron Wilson, Christopher Weeramantry, Gerard Brennan, William Deane, Robin Sharwood, Eddie Mabo, Murray Gleeson, Michael Kirby and John Hatzistergos.

The case studies are introduced by a substantive guide to the nature of Australian legal practice which brings out distinctive features of the Australian experience. The volume also offers suggestions for how the role of religion in Australian legal history might be rethought in the future.

This volume forms part of the international series Great Christian Jurists produced under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and includes a foreword by Australia’s renowned legal historian, Bruce Kercher.

CONTENTS

Foreword – by Bruce Kercher

Introduction: Spirit in the Temporal - by Geoff Lindsay and Wayne Hudson

1. Lachlan Macquarie (1761-1824) by Marie Bashir 
2. James Stephen (1789-1859) by Stephen Tong & Robert Tong
3. Richard Bourke (1777-1855) by Roy Williams
4. John Plunkett (1802-1869) by John McLaughlin
5. George Higinbotham (1826-1892) by Marion Maddox
6. Samuel Griffith (1845-1920) by Simon Chapple
7. Andrew Inglis Clark (1848-1907) by Richard Ely
8. Henry Higgins (1851-1929) by Stuart Macintyre
9. Alfred Deakin (1856-1919) by Stephen Free
10. Edith Cowan (1861-1932) by Tony Cunneen
11. Lord Atkin (1867-1944) by Peter Applegarth
12. Robert Menzies (1894-1978) by Anne Henderson
13. Victor Windeyer (1900-1987) by Carol Webster
14. Roma Mitchell (1913-2000) by Susan Magarey
15. Gough Whitlam (1916-2014) by James McComish
16. Ronald Wilson (1922-2005) by Mandy Tibbey
17. Christopher Gregory Weeramantry (1926-2017) by Esther Li Ean Khoo
18. Francis Gerard Brennan (b. 1928) by Patrick Keyzer
19. William Deane (b. 1931) by Arthur Emmett
20. Robin Sharwood (1931-2015) by Rowena Armstrong
21. Eddie Mabo (1936-1992) by Kevin Smith
22. Murray Gleeson (b.1938) by Michael Pelly
23. Michael Kirby (b.1939) by Nicolas Kirby
24. John Hatzistergos (b. 1960) by Johnny Sorras

Conclusion: Rethinking ‘Religion’ and ‘Law’ in Australia – by Wayne Hudson and Geoff Lindsay