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The International Society for Science & Religion was established in 2002 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion conducted where possible in an international and multi-faith context.
The Society took shape after a four-day conference in Granada, Spain, which until the late 15th century was the center of peaceful discourse between scholars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Phillip Clayton, California-based philosopher and theologian:
"What we are hoping for is a cross-fertilization between two of the greatest forces of the human spirit - science and religion."
The late Arthur Peacocke, Church of England priest and physical biochemist at Oxford University :
"As we face the universal claims of science and confront its new challenges together, may we find a common spiritual ground among ourselves."
Bruno Guiderdoni, research director at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics:
"Once our spiritual nature is recognized, how is it possible to bring violence to each other?"
ESSAY COMPETITION TO HONOUR JOHN POLKINGHORNE'S 80th BIRTHDAY
ISSR is now offering major cash prizes for an essay by a student or junior academic on an aspect of the work of its first president, John Polkinghorne.
1st prize £10,000
2nd prize £5,000
3rd prize £2,000
For further details click here. |
2010 Conference
International Society for Science and Religion and the Ian Ramsey Centre, Theology Faculty, University of Oxford
God and Physics, incorporating an 80th birthday celebration of the work of John Polkinghorne
July 7-11, 2010, St Anne’s College, Oxford, The Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford
For further information visit: www.ianramseycentre.org
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ISSR at the Parliament of the World's Religions
ISSR will be making a major input to the meeting of the World Parliament of Religions in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2009. For further details click here.
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International Science and Religion News
ISSR, as a service to all engaged in the serious study of the science-religion dialogue, has now set up a new website giving details of
recent news, regular courses, forthcoming conferences and academic
positions worldwide. The site may be looked at by clicking here.
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ISSR Library Project - Request for Proposals
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. For eligibility and selection criteria, and to complete an application form click here. |
ISSR Statements
Darwin and Religion
In this year, which marks the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book "On the Origin of Species", there have been many comments - often speculative or ill-informed - about Darwin's religious or anti-religious beliefs. To provide a balanced view, and a stepping stone to further study by anyone interested, the ISSR Executive Committee has asked the illustrious historian of science, John Hedley Brooke, to provide a brief, non-academic introduction to this topic. It may be read by clicking here.
Cybrids and Chimeras
The report may be read by clicking here.
Intelligent Design
The report may be read by clicking here. |
Creationism as an educational issue
Following recent events within the Royal Society centred on the issue of how creationism should be dealt with in the educational system, a Fellow of that Society - ISSR's first President, John Polkinghorne - gave a brief personal view in a short article in the Times (London). The article may be read by clicking HERE.
Another article - by ISSR member Michael Poole and focusing on the educational issue - was recently published in the School Science Review and may be read by clicking HERE.
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Evolution Controversy
ISSR would like to draw attention to a report - "Science, Evolution, and Creationism" - prepared by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S., which we believe provides an important resource for an understanding of evolution by the general public. It can be read online or downloaded by clicking here and following the links to the report. |
Religious Reasons for Supporting Science
ISSR believes that people of all the main religious faith traditions have strong reasons for supporting the scientific enterprise. We also believe that these reasons, while they may vary from tradition to tradition, should be articulated as well as possible within each of them. An admirable example of this, in the view of our Executive Committee, is a Pastoral Letter recently circulated within the United Church of Christ, which may be read by clicking here. |
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