Prof Rick Sarre1
1University Of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
This paper will pursue the ontological quest that I explored in my 2016 and 2017 ANZSOC conference papers which asserted that theology is a valuable tool in the criminological quest. Another example of the value of the quest has appeared: Now that a religious freedom bill looms large on the legislative horizon, what might be the consequences of such an initiative for religiously-based vilification and/or discrimination and other religiously-motivated criminal conduct either by zealots who seek to promote such freedoms, or those opposed to enhanced religious liberties? This is an important question given that 70% of the population still maintains some form of religious practice or belief today in Australia. How should we approach this juggling act of freedom of speech and freedom from potential hate speech?
Biography:
Rick is the Dean of the Law School at the University of South Australia, a position he was lured back into just when he (and others, including his wife) thought that he was safely retired.