Michael Bird returns to the show for a discussion about secularism. Jonathan and Michael cover the Christian origins of secularism, why it is in the interests of religious people to have a secular government, the threat to the secular compact by militant secularism and the inimical impact of the contemporary perversion of genuine secularism.

Dr Michael Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in New Testament at Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia. He is the author and editor of more than thirty books, including Religious Freedom in a Secular Age: A Christian Case for Liberty, Equality, and Secular Government. He writes at michaelbird.substack.com.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, a scholar, writer and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

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