About
The UQ World Religions Experience Day is held annually at the St Lucia campus and invites Year 11 secondary school students from across South East Queensland for a day of discovery.
Students attend a number of sessions throughout the day that cover topics such as Islam and Society, Science and Religion, Hinduism and Judaism.
The World Religions Experience Day grants students the opportunity to:
- experience a day at the St Lucia campus of The University of Queensland
- hear from world-leading scholars
- learn about specific religions, and the place of religion in the contemporary world
- participate in a Q&A session
Event Details
Date: To be confirmed for 2026
Time: 9:30am - 2:00pm
Location: UQ St Lucia (View Map)
Register Interest
Program
9:30am: Arrivals and welcome
10-10:45am : Session block 1
10:45-11:10am: Morning Tea
11:15am-12pm: Session block 2 (repeated sessions from block 1)
12pm - 12:45pm: Lunch
12:55pm - 2pm: Panel session
2pm: Finish
Session descriptions and links to SoR unit*
Session: Islam and Society
Presented by Dr Ryan Williams
- Description: How do Muslims connect to the Islam of the past? What does Islam mean for Muslims in a Muslim-minority country like Australia? This session will explore the texts, rituals, and ethics that connect Muslims in Australian society.
- SoR Unit Themes: Sacred texts and religious writings; Religion and ritual; Religious ethics
Session: Science & Religion Conflict
Presented by Associate Professor Tom Aechtner
- Description: Are religion and science in conflict? This session explores answers to that controversial question, and it explores religion-science relationships throughout history to the present-day.
- SoR Unit Themes: Sacred texts and religious writings; Religious ethics
Session: Hinduism: Sacred Texts
Presented by Associate Professor Adam Bowles
- Description: This session will explore the sacred texts in the Hindu tradition. Why have some texts been elevated over others? Does Hinduism have ‘a sacred text’?
- SoR Unit Themes: Sacred texts and religious writings; Religion, rights and the nation-state
Session: Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Meaning of the Sabbath in 20th-century America
Presented by Dr James A.T. Lancaster
- Description: This presentation will explore how Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, an émigré from Nazi Germany, rethought the importance of Shabbat to Jewish people living in the context of post-war America.
- SoR Unit Themes: Sacred texts and religious writings; Religious ethics
*2025 sessions, please note these may change for 2026.
Contact
Please contact engagement@hass.uq.edu.au for enquiries.
Kindly be aware that this event is exclusively for Year 11 high school students.