I am Junior Research Fellow in Law at Christ Church, University of Oxford for a term of four years from July 2026. I am a legal and political philosopher. 

I study LGBTQ+ citizens and their rights in contemporary liberal democracies. Much of my research uses the tools of philosophy to diagnose injustices suffered by LGBTQ+ citizens in the US and UK. Crucially, however, I am also concerned with how law and public policy might rectify those injustices without alienating religious citizens from their deepest convictions and commitments. That reflects a concern for accommodating in law ‘reasonable’ religious disagreement over LGBTQ+ issues. How can LGBTQ+ rights be morally justified to all reasonable citizens, including those who do not endorse LGBTQ+ relationships, identities, or lifestyles? In essence, my research seeks to reconcile LGBTQ+ rights with religious integrity and reasonable disagreement. In doing so, I explore the nature of citizenship, discrimination, equality, integrity, and liberalism.

Prior to becoming Junior Research Fellow, I read for the PhD in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Clare Chambers. My PhD thesis is entitled ‘Political Liberalism and LGBTQ+ Citizens’. Before that, I read for the MPhil in Political Theory as well as the BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford. I come from a state comprehensive school background in the UK.

Feel free to get in touch if you share any of these legal, philosophical, or public policy interests: samuel [hyphen] cole [at] live [dot] co [dot] uk

You can also find my ORCID profile here and my PhilPeople profile here.