Science & Religion in Interfaith Contexts

We are pleased to announce the launch of an international Interfaith reading group, Science and Religion in Interfaith Contexts, which will explore this complex subject from scientific and theological perspectives, weaving together empirical insights and spiritual teachings, to explore the rich tapestry of this rapidly growing subject and the questions it raises.

Recent years have seen an unprecedented rise in the popularity of science and religion among academics as well as the general public. What factors influence the ways that people react to the findings of science and the teachings of religions, particularly when they seem to intersect or diverge?  By bringing science in conversation with the major world religions and metaphysics, this Reading Group suggests that the complex history and interactions between these disciplines need to be better understood in interfaith contexts, particularly with regard to ethical challenges posed by scientific advances.

The Reading Group will explore the wide spectrum of the relationships between science and religion, by exploring how underlining psychological, social, cultural, religious, physical, neuroscientific, theological, and other contextual factors shape the different ways people approach the relationship between the two in various settings.

The aim of the Reading Group is to focus on interfaith aspects of this ever-expanding field of study by means of a selection of materials to be discussed.

We will meet once a month via Zoom, for about an hour, to discuss a different theme each month. An invited speaker will introduce and read a short text or share empirical research, followed by an open discussion.

The Reading Group is open to anyone, and we invite you to register your initial interest below.

REGISTER HERE

January, 2022.

International Interfaith Advisory Board

Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh, Head of School of Psychology and Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Univeristy of Surrey, UK.

Rev Dr Joanna Collicutt McGrath, Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, UK.

Revd Dr Pamela Cooper-White, Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, Union Theological Seminary, NY, USA.

Revd Dr Gregory Cootsona, California State University, Chico, CA, USA. Member of BioLogos Advisory Council.

Professor Paul Ewart, Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Chairman of Christians in Science, Cambridge, UK.

🕯️Professor Tom McLeish FRS, Inaugural Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Department of Physics at the University of York; Canon Scientist at St Albans Cathedral, UK.

Professor Lisa Miller, Professor of Psychology and Education, and Founder of the Spirituality, Mind, Body Institute (SMBI), Columbia University, USA.

Professor İbrahim Özdemir, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and President of the University Forum on Environmental Ethics at Üsküdar University, Turkey.

Professor Veerabhadran ‘Ram’ Ramanathan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.

Dr Stan Rosenberg, Executive Director, SCIO; Vice President for Research and Scholarship at Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU); Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion, UK.

Professor Emilie Savage-Smith FBA, Professor Emeritas of the History of Islamic Science at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford; Fellow Archivist of St Cross College; Senior Research Consultant at the Bodleian Library, UK.

Rabbi Professor Abraham Skorka, Biophysicist, Rector Emeritus of the Seminario Rabínico Latino Americano in Buenos Aires, Honorary Professor of Hebrew Law at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, and Visiting Professor at the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Argentina.

Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism and Regents Professor of History, School of Historical, Philosophical, Religious Studies and Director of Jewish Studies at Arizona State University, USA.

Professor Laurie Zoloth, Margaret E. Burton Professor of Religion and Ethics and the Senior Advisor to the Provost for Programs on Social Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School; past President of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities; past Vice President of the Society for Jewish Ethics, and Ethics committee for NASA, USA.

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