Paul Oslington

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Paul Oslington (born 1965) is an Australian economist who works at the crossroads of economics and religion. He is the inaugural Dean of Business and Professor of Economics at Alphacrucis University College in Sydney. Previously, he was Professor of Economics at Australian Catholic University (2008–2013) with joint roles in the School of Business and the School of Theology, and before that he was Associate Professor of Economics at UNSW/ADFA (2000–2008).

Oslington is known worldwide for his work on economics and religion. He studies how Christian theology has shaped economic ideas, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries through natural theology. He suggests that studying the natural world, including how people interact in markets, helps us understand God’s character and informs Christian ethics, markets, and business ethics. He has written about Adam Smith and other thinkers such as John Henry Newman, Max Weber, Jacob Viner, and Bernard Lonergan as examples of linking economics and theology. His research also covers history and philosophy of economics, international trade, labor economics, and higher education policy.

He studied at James Ruse Agricultural High School and Macquarie University, then earned a Master of Economics/Econometrics with Honours and a PhD in economics from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Theology from the University of Divinity. In addition to his main roles, he spent the 2020 academic year as a Resident Fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton and has held visiting positions at Princeton Theological Seminary, the University of Oxford, and the University of British Columbia. He is active in several professional associations and has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the John Templeton Foundation, and other funders.