Science And Religion In The Twenty First Century

The progress of modern science and technology has led to remarkable insights into the nature of the universe and of human life. These insights have challenged and transformed former traditional worldviews and narratives. This book explores and addresses the challenges that arise at the interface of science and religion in the 21st century. How does science affect the way that religion is perceived? Do modern scientific findings confirm or invalidate the perspective of faith? How does science lead religious persons to revise the way they understand their faith and its practices? Is a mutually respectful and mutually beneficial dialogue possible between science and faith? Drawing from many disciplines, psychology, theology, philosophy, history, cognitive science, education, this book considers the crucial questions of how science and religion can help shape our worldviews and ways of life today.

While the structures of the Church of England provide practical resources for clergy as they make changes and transitions in their 'careers', very little has been done in the area of theological reflection around this subject. Not all change is welcome and driving factors are very different from those in secular employment. This important volume explores key questions to consider at points of transition: What does it mean to listen to God at times of change? Does the concept of career fit with a sense of vocation? What happens when the church changes in ways we do not like? What does scripture and the tradition of the church offer at these times? What can we learn from the secular world about managing change? What insights does psychology offer? How can ministers stay the course and finish strong? An essential personal resource and handbook for all involved in clergy training, placement and Continuing Ministerial Development.

Fresh thinking and new insights on the nature of science in relation to faith, showing particularly that (1) true science does not need to be and in fact is not hostile to religious faith, and (2) evangelical Christians in general need not be either fearful of nor hostile toward scientific endeavor.

In spite of the debate about secularization or de-secularization, the existential-bodily need for religion is basically the same as always. What have been changed are the horizons within which religions are interpreted and the relationships within which religions are integrated. This book explores how religions continue to challenge secular democracy and science, and how religions are themselves being challenged by secular values and practices. All traditions - whether religious or secular - experience a struggle over authority, and this struggle seems to intensify with globalization, as it has brought people around the world in closer contact with each other. In this book internationally leading scholars from sociology, law, political science, religious studies, theology and the religion and science debate, take stock of the current interdisciplinary research on religion and open new perspectives at the cutting edge of the debate on religion in the 21st century.

"This book examines the unique synergy between religion and technology, and explores the many ways that technology is shaping religious expression, as well as ways that religion is coming to influence technology"--Provided by publisher.

In this volume some of the outstanding Christian scholars of our day reflect on how their minds have changed, how their academic fields have changed over the course of their careers, and the pressing issues that Christian scholars will need to address in the twenty-first century. This volume offers an accessible portrait of key trends in the world of Christian scholarship today. Christian Thought in the Twenty-First Century features scholars from Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and Switzerland. The contributors represent a wide variety of academic backgrounds--from biblical studies to theology, to religious studies, to history, English literature, philosophy, law, and ethics. This book offers a personal glimpse of Christian scholars in a self-reflective mode, capturing their honest reflections on the changing state of the academy and on changes in their own minds and outlooks. The breadth and depth of insight afforded by these contributions provide rich soil for a reader's own reflections, and an agenda that will occupy Christian thinkers well into the twenty-first century.

The term "Religion" refers to a wide range of social-cultural systems, which include beliefs, morals, ethics, religious practices, thought worlds, worldviews, holy texts and scriptures, sanctified holy places, and institutions that typically relate to the general belief in a God or a supernatural entity. Religion has been known in a wide variety of geographical contexts and situations, and attested since very early times; as a matter of fact, even before the dawn of human civilization. As a matter of fact, there have been very few known human societies without some form of an organized or an informal religion. In the past few centuries, technology has progressed at a rapid pace, and at a rate that would have been unimaginable just two centuries ago. Many pundits predicted that the role played by religion in society would invariably and inevitably diminish; alas, such prophecies have not come to pass. Religion, and the role played by it in society, remains as deeply entrenched as ever before. As a matter of fact, globalization has unleashed a clash of civilizations, and has brought different and widely differing ideologies into direct contact with each other, often unleashing waves of terror. In the wide array and assortment of papers that we have been publishing over the years, we have introduced many different concepts that we believe can greatly help in understanding the role religion plays in relation to society. Readers can easily reference these papers. In this paper, we attempt to take our endeavours to a much higher level, to analyse how the beneficial aspects of religion can be magnified and amplified, and the negative implications of religion curtailed. We also lay out the contours of social science research that can effectively tackle the menace of religious fanaticism and hatred, and draw out a road map and a course of action other researchers and scholars can easily relate to. This is far from an easy task, but sociologists and anthropologists have a major role to play here. Hence, this oeuvre. Other researchers and scholars must contribute in no small measure, and those belonging to different parts of the world, and hailing from different backgrounds and cultures. There are fundamental schisms in today’s scholarship, and interdisciplinary and cross-cultural enterprise is still sparse. The Author once had a Muslim friend (highly educated) who was more interested in Greek civilization than in Islam. The Author had another Muslim friend (less educated) who was a devout Muslim: He did not even know how old Islam was, and neither had he read the Qu’ran fully. Therefore, we must avoid stereotypes and accept the fact that we are living in a multicultural world and in a multispeed civilization. The clash of civilizations is also a fact, though it must be eventually mitigated. Halloween parties in Saudi Arabia, and anti-Mullah rhetoric in Iran may be reactionary belligerent displays of wrath; meaningful and permanent change must be brought about only through the realm of social sciences. Many eminent sociologists of yore studied different forms of religion studiously and diligently, even with some kind of an implicit or a feverish reverence or veneration, yet many other scholars today are of an atheistic disposition, tending to write of the utility of religion in the modern world. Why this disconnect? These are all issues we need to ruminate and ponder over, if we are to solve social problems, and build a meaningful and a deep-rooted edifice of research. We also need original thinkers, not legions of camp followers of the west, to use an aphorism by Sir CV Raman, who was the first Indian to bring home the Nobel prize in science. Intellectuals and thinkers must be aligned to social requirements, and must be sensitive to cultural factors. Otherwise, the words of Carl Jung will come into play, ”The deep critical thinker has become the misfit of the world, this is not a coincidence. To maintain order and control, you must isolate the intellectual, the sage, the philosopher, the savant before their ideas awaken people,” or as CS Lewis states, The greatest evils in the world are not carried out by men with guns, but by men in suits sitting behind desks.” Esoterism and nerdism appear to be the bane in various academic disciplines. As Daniel Dennett put it, many philosophers pursue isolated paths, and dedicate their intellect purely to age-old ideas without considering the advancements of modern science. Scholars also do not think through issues deeply and comprehensively enough. However, change must be brought about slowly, and in a graduated fashion. It must be brought about tactfully and diplomatically, without trampling on people’s sensitivities. As William Shakespeare put it, “Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.” We also need “objectivity in mindset”, otherwise all attempts at scientific progress will fail. Even the best or the most advanced and uptodate software cannot date the Ramayana or the Mahabharata accurately if objectivity in mindset does not exist. Change can however be brought about. As Jose Andres once famously stated, "The modernity of yesterday is the tradition of today, and the modernity of today will be tradition tomorrow."

A collection of twenty cutting-edge essays on issues raised by biotechnology's increasing impact on humans and nature, The Meaning of Life in the 21st Century provides a forward-looking discussion by a wide array of prominent experts on where today's scientific discoveries are taking humankind. The theme is that there are expanded perspectives for retaining unique meanings of being human in the 21st century. This collection is the result of a 2005 conference organized by the Yoko Civilization Research Institute of Japan. Organized into themes by Dr. Don Hanlon Johnson, these essays present deeply informed, sometimes conflicting views of complex issues, which, in the contemporary world, are inescapably global, including: Science and religion in a pivotal age Science, experience, and values Stem cells, embryos, and the meaning of embodiment Enhancement and transformative practices Religion and ecology: a growing alliance Bringing a diversity of prominent thinkers from several continents to the scientific, sociopolitical, and religious issues at the forefront of contemporary challenges, this collection makes clear that the world is now a community which faces these issues together. This serious, thoughtful book, rich in dialogue, provides hope for new perspectives for developing a positive, sustainable future.