Freedom of Religion and Belief

Fiona became Member of Parliament for Congleton in 2010. Before 2010 Fiona practised as a solicitor, setting up her own business, the law firm Fiona Bruce & Co LLP, based in Cheshire.  Fiona has focused in Parliament on championing individual freedoms and human rights, both in this country and abroad, including the right to freedom of religion or belief.  Fiona is the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, a Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for North Korea and Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Prior to joining the APPG, Portia served as an attaché for the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, based in New York. Before this, she worked as a political consultant, with a focus on polling data and focus groups. She received a full scholarship to study at Harvard University and graduated with a major in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and a minor in Government.

Ralph Weir is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Lincoln, and Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. He is author of The Mind-Body Problem and Metaphysics forthcoming with Routledge in 2023. His recent publications include “Bring Back Substances!” (Review of Metaphysics, 2021), “Can a Post-Galilean Science of Consciousness Avoid Substance Dualism?” (Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2021) and “Does Idealism Solve the Problem of Consciousness?” (Routledge Handbook of Idealism and Immaterialism, 2021). He is a founding organiser of the Humane Philosophy Project.

Professor Biggar is a widely published outstanding academic of international repute. His research interests include the ethics of empire and nationalism; just war reasoning; the principle of double effect and the ethics of killing; the concept of proportionality. Publications include Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, Between Kin and Cosmopolis: An Ethic of the Nation, What’s Wrong with Rights?, and In Defence of War.

Oliver McAdoo is Principal Examiner for the Cambridge Pre-U and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board.  He is an author, speaker for Keynote Education, and a philosophy consultant for Cambridge University.  He is in the process of creating a new Philosophy A Level to be run alongside the current RS A Level and, should this prove successful, a GCSE in ‘pure’ philosophy – the first of its kind in Britain.

Laura Miller studied Philosophy at the University of Warwick and has been teaching for twelve years across various independent schools. She is currently Head of Divinity at Eton College where she has held the position for four years. She has a Masters in Educational Innovation and is currently reading an MA in Religion alongside her teaching practice. She is also an assistant examiner for A Level Religious Studies and the Philosophy setter for Common Entrance Religious Studies for ISEB.

Cecilia Bidie is Head of Theology, Philosophy and Religion and Wetherby Prep School.  Her talk is about how to leverage tech in the TPR classroom to enhance and consolidate learning. She will discuss how best to implement it into lessons, give practical examples and explore different technologies. Delegates are warmly invited to bring their own ideas and experiences to the session for discussion.