Historian Michael Gladwin joins the show for a conversation about the role and impact of Christianity on the European settlement and foundation of Australia. They look at the role of clergy in the early colonial period, the relationship between church and state and the cultural and political impact of Christians in the formation of Australia. They also discuss the failure of Australian historians to take proper account of the importance of religion in Australian history.

Dr Michael Gladwin is Lecturer in History at St Mark’s National Theological Centre in the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Canberra. A graduate of the Australian National University and the University of Cambridge, his research interests include the religious and cultural history of Australia and the British Empire. Michael is the author of Captains of the Soul: a history of Australian Army chaplains (2013) and Anglican clergy in Australia, 1788–1850: building a British World (2015). 

The Political Animals is hosted by Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator who specialises in political theology: the intersetion of religion and politics. He is the author of Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.  You can follow Jonathan and the show on Twitter and Facebook.