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Dr. Georgia Du Plessis

Dr. Georgia Du Plessis

Affiliated Researcher in Religious Studies and Missiology

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Education, Degrees
  • 2017: Ph.D. in Law, University of Antwerp & Free University of Brussels (VUB), Belgium
  • 2008: M.A. in Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
  • 2007: B.A. in Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
Academic Positions and Teaching Experience
  • 2019-present: Affiliated Researcher in Religious Studies and Missiology, ETF Leuven
  • 2018–2020: Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven
  • 2017: Legal Researcher, VUB
  • 2009-2016: Lecturer, University of the Free State, South Africa
Academic Memberships
  • Institute for the Study of Freedom of Religion or Belief (ISFORB), ETF Leuven
  • International Consortium for Law and Religious Studies (ICLARS)
Selected Bibliography

Books

  • With Jan De Groof and Maria Smirnova, eds. Religion, Law and Education: Tensions and Perspectives. Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal publishers, 2017.

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

  • “Reconstructing a right to conscientious objection in Europe: An analysis in light of vaccinations during pandemics.” In Religious Freedom and COVID-19: A European Perspective, edited by Jelle Creemers and Tatiana Kopaleishvili, 92–111. ICLARS Series on Law and Religion. Abingdon: Routledge, 2025.
  • “Critical Considerations on the Legal Protection of Adherents to the Christian Faith in the European Legal Framework.” In The Vitality of Evangelical Theology: Celebrating ETF Leuven at 40, edited by Andreas J. Beck, Jos de Kock, and Steven C. van den Heuvel, 235–46. Leuven: Peeters, 2022.
  • “Is reasonable accommodation sufficient protection for the right to religious freedom in secular societies?” In Law, Religion, and Freedom: Conceptualizing a Common Right, edited by W. Cole Durham, Jr., Javier Martinez Torrón and Donlu D. Thayer, 63–79. London: Routledge, 2021.
  • “’Rhodes must fall’ – An alternative approach to statues in the South African public sphere.” In Religious Pluralism, Heritage and Social Development in Africa, edited by M. Christian Green, Rosalind I. J. Hackett, Len Hansen, and Francois Venter, 271–89. Stellenbosch: SunMedia, 2017.
  • “The Wearing of Religious and Cultural Symbols in South African Public Schools.” In Religious and Ideological Rights in Education: Judicial Perspectives from 32 Legal Systems, edited by Pablo Meix Cereceda and Jan De Groof, 462–73. Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2017.
  • “The dissemination of religious knowledge in South African Public Schools.” In Religion, Law, and Education: Tensions and Perspectives, edited by Jan De Groof, Georgia du Plessis, and Maria Smirnova, 229–50. Oisterwijk: Wolf Legal publishers, 2017.
  • “The Inclusion of Religion in South African Public School Education.” In Law and Religion in Africa – The Quest for the Common Good in Pluralistic Societies, edited by Pieter Coertzen, M. Christian Green and Len Hansen, 271–84. Stellenbosch: SunMedia, 2015.
  • With Adina Portaru. “Restrictions to religious worship during COVID-19: A bird’s-eye view of court decisions from selected European countries and the European court of human rights.” Journal of Church and State 64, no. 4 (2022): 641–62.
  • With Christof Sauer. “Safeguarding freedom of religion or belief: Assessing the recommendations of the CRL Rights Commission in the light of international human rights standards.” Alternation, Special Edition 38a (2021): 378–411.
  • With Werner Nel. “The dimensional elements of the right to freedom of religion or belief in the South African constitution: An evaluation in light of relevant core international human rights instruments.” Journal for Juridical Science 46, no. 1 (2021): 25–56.
  • “COVID-19 and limitations to the international right to freedom of religion or belief.” Journal of Church and State 63, no. 4 (2021): 619–47.
  • “The constitutionality of the regulation of religion in South Africa – untoward restrictions of the right to religious freedom?” South African Law Journal 136, no. 1 (2019): 131–64.
  • “The European struggle with religious diversity – Osmanoǧlu and Kocabaş v. Switzerland.” Journal of Church and State 60, no. 3 (2018): 503–25.
  • With Shaun de Freitas. “Organisasie vir Godsdienste-Onderrig en Demokrasie v. Laerskool Randhart et al: The right to freedom of religion, diversity and the public school.” Journal for Juridical Science 43, no. 2 (2018): 32–52.
  • “Apartheid, religious pluralism and the evolution of the right to religious freedom in South Africa.” Journal for Religious History 40, no. 2 (2016): 237–60.
  • “The legitimacy of using the harm principle in cases of religious freedom within education.” Human Rights Review 17, no. 3 (2016): 349–70.
  • “Freedom of expression and defamation of religion: Mohammedi v. SABC 3.” South African Journal on Human Rights 51 (2015): 185–204.
  • “Religious freedom, reasonable accommodation and the protection of the conscience of learners in South African public schools.” International Journal for Religious Freedom 7 (2014): 97–112.
  • “A country report on violence in education within South Africa.” International Journal of Education Law and Policy, special issue 9 (2013).
  • “’Defamation of Religion’: A critique of the United Nations and Arab co-authorship of the balance between expression and religious rights.” Ave Maria International Law Journal 2, no. 2 (2013): 87–115.
  • “Feticide: Creating a statutory crime in South African law.” Stellenbosch Law Review 24, no. 1 (2013): 73–92.
  • With Andries Raath. “Duty, right and social benevolence: An alternative approach to debates about abortion.” Journal for Christian Scholarship 48, no. 3-4 (2012): 289–309.
  • With Shaun de Freitas. “Seeking deliberation on the unborn in international law.” Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 14, no. 5 (2011): 9–37.
  • With Shaun de Freitas. “The unborn and A, B, and C v. Ireland.” Journal for Juridical Science 35, no. 1 (2010): 93–112.
  • With Shaun de Freitas. “The relevance of science for the protection of the unborn.” Journal for Christian Scholarship 45, no. 1-2 (2009): 61–85.