Recent News
Francisco Ayala wins this year's Templeton Prize
ISSR member Francisco Ayala has won this year's Templeton Prize.For further details see http://www.templetonprize.org/
European Prize for Research on Cognitive Theories of Religion
The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, ESSSAT, in 2010 has awarded its biannual ESSSAT Prize for Research to Dr. Aku Visala for his philosophical analysis of cognitive theories of religion.
ESSSAT is a scholarly society of scientists, theologians, philosophers and scholars in religious studies. The ESSSAT Research Prize will be presented at the thirteenth European Conference on Science and Theology, which will be held in Edinburgh on April 7-11, 2010.
The prize has been awarded to Dr. Aku Visala for his study Religion Explained? A Philosophical Analysis of the Cognitive Science of Religion, which he recently defended as his doctoral thesis at the University of Helsinki. Cognitive theories of religion draw on the analysis of our evolved cognitive faculties in order to understand religion. The jury found that Visala deals with a major current development of substantial complexity. His writing displays a strong grasp of relevant literature, also from neighboring fields. The work engages the issues in a mature way, coming up with well considered criticisms of others and an analysis of his own. Last but not least, the work is well written and focused.
Aku Visala is currently visiting fellow with the Center for Anthropology and Mind, Oxford University, UK. Though the evaluation of the various works submitted was on the basis of their merits by themselves, it is a happy coincidence that the theme of the upcoming conference in Edinburgh, Is Religion Natural?, aligns very well with the topic of the thesis of Aku Visala.
Additional info
On ESSSAT and the conference: www.ESSSAT.org
Contact e-mail for Aku Visala: aku.visala@anthro.ox.ac.uk
Request for Proposals
International Society for Science and Religion - Library Project
The International Society for Science and Religion requests proposals from institutions of higher learning to receive complete Libraries of major works in the field of science and the human spirit. These books will collectively provide for a comprehensive foundation for study, teaching and research in science and religion and related fields. Winnowed from thousands of books currently in print in this area, these titles are representative of the most important authors and treat the vast range of interdisciplinary subject matter at the highest level of quality and scholarship. Selected through rigorous peer review, these titles reflect no ideological or religious bias and are drawn from many faith traditions as well as authors with vigorously naturalistic perspectives.
The ISSR will select up to 150 institutions on a competitive basis to receive libraries consisting of approximately 200 matching hardbound volumes accompanied by a comprehensive Companion edition written by Society members that summarizes and critiques each volume.
Applications are especially encouraged from universities with active research and teaching in related fields which can take advantage of the ISSR Library to substantially enhance the quality and impact of their work.
Eligibility
Institutions of higher learning with permanent circulating libraries are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to those with active teaching and research but whose institutional resources for book acquisition are limited. Application should be made by members of the faculty or administration and must be accompanied by letters of interest from supervisory personnel with responsibility for library holdings and management.
Selection Criteria
Institutions will be selected in a competitive process based on their present capacity, commitment to research and study in science and religion, institutional support for related projects and original and promising plans for scholarly activity related to the Library.
Applications
Applications must be submitted online by faculty members or administrators.Accompanying materials must include a signed statement of interest from the supervisor of the institution’s circulating library indicating a commitment to receive, display and circulate the Library.
For further information visit: http://www.issrlibrary.org/request-proposals.asp or contact: Sharon Mellul,
Library Program Assistant,
The International Society for Science and Religion, Bene’t House, St. Edmunds College, Mount Pleasant, Cambridge, CB3 OBN, UK, Tel: +0044 (0) 1223 740724, Email: admin@issrlibrary.org
‘Let Newton Be!’
The past month saw the launch of a major new play on the life of Sir Isaac Newton entitled ‘Let Newton Be!’ written by Craig Baxter and produced by the Menagerie Theatre Company as a contribution to the 800th Birthday Celebrations of the University of Cambridge. Sponsored by the Faraday Institute, the play received its premier at Trinity College, Newton’s old College. Newton himself was the second holder of the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, and the Faraday Institute was pleased to welcome the retiring 17th holder of the Lucasian Chair, Prof. Stephen Hawking, who gave a short speech before the performance. Later the same week there were further performances in other venues for the whole university, and a sell-out ticketed performance for the general public at the Hills Road Sixth Form College theatre. Plans are now being made for UK and US tours for the play during 2010.
A good crowd (130+) also attended the Panel Discussion, chaired by Simon Conway Morris FRS, organized as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas in which John Polkinghorne FRS and Nicholas Beale engaged the audience on the subject of their new book ‘Questions of Truth’.
Establishment of the Warren and Janet Brown Scholarship
Fuller Theological Seminary and the School of Psychology announce the establishment of the Warren and Janet Brown Scholarship in honor of Dr. Warren S. Brown and his wife, Janet. As director of the Lee Edward Travis Research Institute (TRI), Warren Brown has made a tremendous contribution to the understanding of the corpus callosum and its role in a variety of cognitive and emotional processes. As a caring professor and beloved mentor, Warren has ignited and supported in his students a love for research and a deep curiosity about the place in the brain where the spiritual and emotional life intersect. Warren’s work at the boundary of theology and neuroscience exemplifies psychology and theology integration at its best. For more information, please visit the TRI website.
ISSR at the Parliament of the World's Religions
ISSR will be well represented at the Parliament of the World's Religions when it meets in Melbourne this December. All of the proposals submitted on behalf of the ISSR have been accepted for the major program. There will be four sessions at the Parliament with ISSR members strongly represented; also, at least six ISSR members will be on the program as well.
Of 1450 proposals submitted by various bodies and individuals, only about 450 were accepted, the vast majority of which are heavily focused on interreligious dialogue from within religion. The ISSR sessions, by contrast, are influenced by a science-and-religion approach that each session chair had to remold to fit with the character of the Parliament.
LeRon Shults has organized two sessions on “Transforming Compassion in Science and Religion,” which are intended to contribute to the growing interest in integrating inter-religious dialogue with inter-disciplinary dialogue. Compassion is a value that is central to many of the world’s religions and a phenomenon that can be studied from a variety of scientific perspectives. Our strategy is to provide a context within which different voices can come together around the shared concern to understand and facilitate empathy and altruism across religious and other significant boundaries. The word “transforming” in the title indicates that we are interested both in transforming the way we think about compassion through listening to one another as well as in facilitating compassion that is actually transformative of the human condition. The first session will begin with a panel of three scientists (biologist, psychologist and economist), briefly answering: "how does your discipline help us understand and foster compassion?" The second session will have a panel of representatives from different religious backgrounds (Muslim, Hindu, Christian), offering reflections on how our traditions help us understand and foster compassion. In each case, the panels will be followed by small group exercises (e.g., fishbowl, brainstorming, interactive case studies) in which audience members discuss initial reactions and implications. The session will conclude with broader interaction among the panel participants (scientists and religionists) as we explore practical ways to further the conversation and promote compassion.
Philip Clayton also organized three sessions on behalf of the ISSR and for which the Society is listed as the official sponsor. These sessions have three goals: to introduce people to science-religion dialogue across the world's religious traditions; to show how this dialogue can actually help to reduce interreligious tensions rather than increasing them; and to demonstrate why the global environmental crisis requires close partnerships between scientific knowledge and the motivating power of the world's religious traditions.
The organizers have arranged these three ISSR sessions as a special block program on the first full day of the Parliament, December 5th. The ISSR representatives will be joined at the first session by Dr Peter Doherty (Nobel Prize for Medicine), who will present data on global climate change. At the final session they will dialogue with religious activists in the environmental movement, hoping to show how partnerships with scientists are crucial to the success of the movement.
ISSR member Sol Katz, who played a central role in coordinating between the Society and the Parliament's leaders, spoke of the challenges, but also of the importance of ISSR involvement in the world's largest gathering of religious leaders. He wrote, "In the end I think we will make a significant contribution to this auspicious event."
Darwin Festival
The Darwin Festival provided a wonderful feast of talks by 88 different speakers, together with a wide range of discussions, films, plays and exhibitions. Some of the science and religion aspects of the Festival have been summarised by the Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute, in an article in the Daily Telegraph which may be viewed at:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5842511/Science-and-religion-squabbling-but-loving-cousins.html
Test of Faith
The documentary has won a 2009 Redemptive Storyteller Award (http://www.redemptivefilms.com), and was Highly Commended in the Feature Film category of the 2009 IVCA Clarion Awards (http://www.ivca.org/award-schemes/clarion-awards.html).
The Test of Faith schools pack was launched in September. It includes a teacher's book with lesson plans for UK GCSE and A-Level Religious Education lessons, and a special edition of the Test of Faith DVD. It will be available from the Faraday online shop www.faraday-institute.org, with an introductory price of £12.
Francis Collins new head of NIH
A member of ISSR, Francis Collins, has just been nominated to head the National Institutes of Health in the US. For further information on the announcement go to the following link:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMNQC_ZdT1n4Ow_Xnuu3yXrC-DYgD99AFVOO2
Princeton Theological Seminary Awarded “Science for Ministry” Grant from Templeton Foundation
Princeton Theological Seminary has been awarded a $346,988 grant over three years as part of the John Templeton Foundation’s inaugural “Science for Ministry” Initiative. This purpose of this broader program is to “support effective science education programs and resources for people active in ministry.”
Dr. J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, the James I. McCord Professor of Theology and Science at Princeton Theological Seminary, will serve as a co-director of the initiative, with Kenneth Reynhout, a Ph.D. candidate in theology and science at the Seminary. The initiative is part of the Seminary’s Continuing Education program.
“This program,” says van Huyssteen “is intended to address a common experience of ministers and scientists of faith who struggle to develop a constructive dialogue around issues of theology and science in their ministry contexts. We are seeking to equip leaders in ministry with the knowledge and tools to confidently respond to these fundamental challenges, and to do so in ways that encourage a transformational impact on their church communities.”
Princeton Seminary’s program is designed for 144 participants from 72 Christian faith communities. Each community will send a scientist and a theologian to participate in a five-day introductory program that focuses on the two essential questions shared by theology and science: questions of origins and questions of human nature. Participants will then choose from a series of three-day and one-day programs that focus on different facets of these questions, including topics like evolution in both cosmology and biology, and cognitive science, neuroscience, and the human person. Each pair of scientist and theologian will return to their community equipped to further the dialogue between science and theology.
“Princeton Seminary’s service to the church does not end with graduation. The twofold focus of our continuing education efforts is on the continuing formation of pastors and on the lives of congregations. Intentionally bringing congregational partners in ministry and science is an example of our service to the church” says the Reverend Raymond Bonwell, director of programs for the Erdman Center of Continuing Education, who will administer the initiative.
The grant will be used to subsidize the majority of the costs for the participants and to create content for the program. The first program will be November 2–6, 2009, on the Princeton Seminary campus. Additional information, including applications, is available on the Seminary’s Continuing Education web site,www.ptsem.edu/ce, or by telephone at 609.497.7990.
Princeton Theological Seminary was founded in 1812, the first seminary established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. It is the largest Presbyterian seminary in the country, with more than 600 students in six graduate degree programs.
The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discovery in areas engaging life’s biggest questions. These questions range from explorations into the laws of nature and the universe to questions on the nature of love, gratitude, forgiveness, and creativity.
Biologos
Dr. Francis Collins recently established The BioLogos Foundation to address the escalating culture war between science and faith
in the United States. Funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation(http://www.templeton.org), their website http://biologos.org is a source of scholarly thought on contemporary issues in science and faith that highlights the compatibility of modern science with traditional Christian beliefs.
Darwin Anniversary Conference
A significant event during the past month has been the Darwin Anniversary Conference organized by The Faraday Institute and held in Istanbul. As one of the Turkish speakers remarked: “It was the first time for evolutionary discussions in Turkey that both vulgar positivism and religious fundamentalism were excluded”. The main two-day Symposium was attended by 50 faculty biologists from universities all over Turkey, 10 PhD students and 10 observers in the field of education, and drew an international platform of speakers, including Prof. Francisco Ayala (University of California at Irvine), Prof. Aykut Kence (Middle East Technical University, Ankara), Prof. Nidhal Guessoum (American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates), Prof. David Lordkipanidze (Director General of the Georgian National Museum), Prof. Vidyanand Nanjundiah (Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore) and Prof. Simon Conway Morris FRS (Cambridge University). Whereas the main focus of the conference was evolutionary biology, time was also given to the challenge of teaching modern biology today in Turkey and beyond. Details in English and Turkish may be seen at www.Darwin200Istanbul.org. Talks and summaries will be posted at this site as they become available.
On the final night of the Symposium a Public Event was held attended by 430 people, mainly students from different Istanbul universities. The programme included a number of short talks about Darwin and evolution, the first performance of Re:Design in Turkey (the dramatisation of the Darwin-Gray correspondence performed by the Menagerie Theatre Company), and a televised Panel Discussion on ‘The Hard Questions’ in which the audience posed questions about Darwin and evolution to a panel of experts. The event drew extensive media coverage with clips on the Turkish evening news and 17 journalists in attendance resulting in full-page articles and interviews in publications such as Turkish Newsweek.
Former Vatican Observatory Director Honored
Father George Coyne, an astronomer, Jesuit priest, and former director of the Vatican Observatory, has won the American Astronomical Society's George Van Biesbroeck Prize for 2009, awarded every two years for "long-term extraordinary or unselfish service to astronomy." The prize, says the AAS, recognizes "the diversity and scientific richness he has brought to the astronomical community through his visionary leadership of the Vatican Observatory Summer School and its long-term mentoring program, and for the unique role he has played at the juncture of science and religion."
STARS
STARS, "Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series," a program of CTNS, announced the recipients of two $200,000 grants advancing research in science and transcendence on January 16, 2009.
These grants, in addition to the $120,000 each these teams previously received, will support the expansion of the winning teams' research projects. These two grants are awarded based on an evaluation by distinguished judges and are the final in a series of twenty-seven CTNS STARS grants totaling $1.3 million. The two teams draw from scholars in the sciences and humanities, who represent eight institutions across the United States and the United Kingdom. Consultants to the two teams are represented by eleven institutions from the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and northern Europe.
Recipients of Two $200,000 STARS Renewal Grants
The Rationality of Ultimate Value: Emotion, Awareness, and Causality in Virtue Ethics and Decision Neuroscience
"Thus far, this project has created exciting new approaches to research on moral action and virtue. Most remarkably, the project has yielded a novel approach to neuroscience and psychological study of virtuous exemplars within a laboratory context. We have also successfully used semantic analysis to probe for transcendent concepts in the schemas of virtuous exemplars. Finally, our team has formulated a philosophical understanding of virtue that both incorporates this new scientific research and argues for the critical importance of transcendence and exemplarity in moral action." -- Warren Brown, Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary and Gregory Peterson, Associate Professor, South Dakota State University (Co-Principal Investigators). Team details are found at http://www.ctnsstars.org/
Information and the Origin of Life
"Our new philosophical definition of 'interpretation' is providing a novel approach to the scientific question of the origin of life. We have begun to generate models and proposals that are already starting to demonstrate the advantage that even very simple entities gain by interpreting their environment. The theological part of our proposal is that these three-fold patterns in the world also provide ways of talking about the Christian understanding of the life of God and God's interaction with the world." -- Andrew Robinson, Honorary University Fellow, University of Exeter, UK and Christopher Southgate, Research Fellow, University of Exeter, UK (Co-Principal Investigators). The complete press release and team details are found at http://www.ctnsstars.org/
STARS sponsors ground-breaking interdisciplinary research on the ways science, in light of philosophical and theological reflection, points towards the nature, character and meaning of ultimate reality. STARS research is undertaken in a highly innovative way, through small teams of scientists and humanities scholars. Results of the research will be jointly authored by the members of the team, thereby producing a unique synthesis of science and humanities scholarship.
"I am delighted with the extraordinary quality and ground-breaking approaches to interdisciplinary research by these two outstanding teams who have each won a $200,000 renewal grant from CTNS for their STARS research," said Robert John Russell, STARS Principal Investigator and the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science In-Residence at the Graduate Theological Union."Their continuing research is at the center of a wide range of scientific area spanned by the twenty-seven STARS grants: from fundamental physics and evolutionary biology to the neurosciences and mathematics. The implications for our understanding of human spirituality, virtue ethics, the scientific question of the origin of life, and the meaning of "ultimate reality" are very promising."
STARS is funded through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
J. K. Russell Fellowship in Religion and Science
Dr. Francisco Ayala, esteemed biologist and philosopher, has been invited by the CTNS Board of Directors to be this year's Research Fellow. Dr. Ayala is University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Philosophy, at the University of California, Irvine. Among his many distinctions, Dr. Ayala was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2001. Ayala learned of this prestigious award while participating in a three-week CTNS-Science and Religion Course Program lectureship tour in Taiwan and China with Bob Russell, Ted Peters and others.
This 2009 Fellowship coincides with "Year of Darwin," the bicentennial of Darwin's birthday, and sesquicentennial of the publication of Charles Darwin's book "The Origin of Species."
More details will be available in January and on the CTNS website, www.ctns.org/news.html.
The Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series has completed its third round of funding
The Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and administered by the Centre for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, has completed its third round of funding. Of the two $200,000 awards in this final phase of STARS, one has been won by ISSR member Dr Christopher Southgate, with his colleague at the University of Exeter, UK, Dr Andrew Robinson. The remainder of the team for the project 'Interpretation and the Origin of Life' consists of the co-investigators Professors Terrence Deacon (UC - Berkeley), Niles Lehman (Portland State) and Bruce Weber (UC - Fullerton). The project uses the semiotics and metaphysics of C.S. Peirce to explore both new approaches to the scientific study of the origin of life, and new ways to explicate Christian reflection on the Trinity and the Incarnation.
For further information see www.ctnsstars.org
Ted Peters Named Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy
Ted Peters, professor of systematic theology at the Graduate Theological Union and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, co-editor of Theology and Science and long-term member of the CTNS Board of Directors, has been named the Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Marty is a renowned observer and historiographer of 19th and 20th century of American Religion.
Peters, well-known author and scholar focusing on the interplay between theology and science, will serve in this capacity for the 2009 calendar year. During his residency at St. Olaf, he will teach, sponsor colloquia and dialogues with faculty and students, and lead a faculty seminar.
Leading climate scientist launches new Christian environment initiative
A new web-based organisation for Christians working in all aspects of environmental action was launched on 21 October 2008, by Sir John Houghton FRS CBE at the IFES International Symposium on Climate Change in Jamaica.
The organisation, named Professionals International in Christian Environmental Action (PICEA), aims to support environmental professionals around the world in their personal and professional development and through networking, to connect individuals and groups. The PICEA website www.joinpicea.org will provide job listings, latest research, a directory of job, discussion board and a peer review facility.
Sir John Houghton explained: “The belief that God cares for all of creation brings a strong message of hope that Christian Environmental Professionals share as they get together in PICEA. In this exciting new association experts from rich and poor, north and south, east and west, will cooperate in facing the enormous challenge of halting and reversing the unprecedented environmental degradation in today's world.”
For more information, or to join, visit the PICEA website www.joinpicea.org. The first 100 members will have a free first year.
Jeevalya Forum For Science, Religion and Society
The faculty and the students of Jeevalaya Institute of Philosophy announced the beginning of Jeevalaya Forum For Science, Religion and Society (JFSR) at their institute, as a part of the University Project For Science-Religion Interfacing, Networking And Research (UPSR), initiated by Indian Institute Of Science And Religion (IISR), Pune. Jeevalaya Forum For Science, Religion and Society (JFSR) was inaugurated on October 15 by Dr. Job Kozhamthadam SJ, the founding father and president of IISR, Pune. Dr. Mathew J Manimala Ph.D (IIM,Bangalore) was the chief guest at the function.
Metanexus Institute Names 2008-09 Senior Fellow
http://metanexus.net/magazine/ArticleDetail/tabid/68/id/10557/Default.aspx
Metanexus Academic Board Member, John D. Caputo, Takes the Gold for What Would Jesus Deconstruct?
http://metanexus.net/magazine/ArticleDetail/tabid/68/id/10556/Default.aspx
Bishop elected president of ESSSAT
Bishop Antje Jackelén has been elected president of ESSSAT - The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, an international member’s organization for theologians and scientists.
Science and theology are two forces that have shaped and impacted greatly on our culture. The dialogue between these areas of research is becoming increasingly important in a wide range of issues. The climate issue and hiv/aids are two current examples, says Antje Jackelén, who has a doctor’s degree in systematic theology focusing on the dialogue between science and religion.
Antje Jackelén, who previously has been on the board of ESSSAT, is the first woman to be elected president of the organization.
Every other year the organization hosts an international conference for scientists, theologians, philosophers, historians, etcetera, in order to deepen and develop the dialogue between different areas of research. Furthermore two series of books are published by ESSSAT.
Bishop Antje has published several books and articles on the subject of science and religion. A detailed description of the bishop’s published works can be found at the website, http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/default.aspx?di=35908&ptid=0.
For further information on ESSSAT check www.esssat.org.
Gresham College
New Gresham Professor of Geometry Professor John Barrow FRS, the Director of the Millennium Mathematics and Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge University, has been appointed the new Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in London for 2008-2011. Founded in 1596, this is the oldest mathematics professorship in the UK and previous holders include Isaac Barrow, Robert Hooke, and Roger Penrose. John Barrow was Gresham Professor of Astronomy from 2003-7 and is the only person other than Laurence Rooke, in 1657, to hold Gresham chairs in two different subjects. |
