The Religious History Association and the Journal of Religious History owe a great debt to the initiative and vision of Professor Hilary Carey. As editor of the Journal of Religious History, she significantly raised the journal’s profile and laid the foundations for its current success. As the founding president of the Religious History Association, she implemented many of the measures that have enabled the Association to enhance the visibility of religious history in Australia while also providing essential oversight of the journal. Professor Carey accomplished all this while fulfilling demanding administrative roles at the University of Newcastle, NSW, which ultimately led to her current appointment as Head of the School of Humanities at the University of Bristol.

A dedicated and accomplished scholar, Professor Carey has received considerable recognition for her research in two distinct fields: medieval astrology and the interconnections between modern imperialism and religion, particularly in the context of the British Empire. Her recent works continue to demonstrate her range and versatility, including God’s Empire: Religion and Colonisation in the British World (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and the article ‘Henry VII’s Book of Astrology and the Tudor Renaissance’, published in Renaissance Quarterly, 65 (2012), pp. 661–710.

She also co-authored a recently published history of Methodism in Australia with the Association’s deputy president, Glen O’Brien. As a driving force behind the revitalisation of the Journal of Religious History, the establishment of the Religious History Association, and as a distinguished scholar in the field, Professor Carey fully merits her recognition as an Honorary Fellow of the Association.