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Templeton Report: Promising Prospects for the Future of Science and Religion

2013-01-11 8:25 AM | Daniel

What has been achieved in over forty years of dialogue between science and theology? What might the future of the discipline look like and how might it best progress?

These questions framed a major conference last month at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. The Science and Religion Dialogue: Past and Future, supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, gathered leading scholars in the field to assess the current and future state of the academic study of science and religion. “The weekend attracted 400 visitors from 33 countries, in addition to the 60 or so academics who presented papers and chaired discussions,” says Michael Welker, professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg and conference host. “There is work of real quality and diversity being undertaken, and the future is exciting.” Videos from the conference, including the opening ceremony and presentations, are now available online.

A key feature of the work is that it engages seriously and deeply with cutting-edge science. “Scientific innovation is not a threat to religious belief and theology but a source of inspiration for renewal,” said Hans Joas of the Universities of Freiburg and Chicago in his opening remarks.

For example, Günter Wagner of Yale University presented a paper on how the complexities of contemporary developmental biology have exploded the notion that organisms are merely the expression of genomes. Rather, epigenetics is demonstrating how organisms are a unique synthesis of all manner of factors, including the social and environmental. This insight carries ethical significance. “Life has real dignity,” Wagner believes. Other cutting-edge science discussed included whether or not the cosmos is causally closed, and the ramifications this has for the possibility of divine intervention.

Several young scholars who won the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise, formerly the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, gave presentations at the conference, including Jan Stievermann from the University of Heidelberg. His presentation argued that knowing about the history of the dialogue between science and religion can correct misapprehensions commonly made today.

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