How should we think about religion, science, and their relationship in modern society? Some religious groups oppose evolution; some atheists claim science is on their side. Others reconcile their beliefs with science, or consider science and faith to deal with fundamentally different aspects of human life. What indeed is religion: belief or trust in God’s existence? How do we distinguish sense from superstition? What does science have to say on such issues? Willem B. Drees considers contemporary discussions of these issues in Europe and North America, using examples from Christianity and religious naturalism, and reflections on Islam and Tibetan Buddhism. He argues that the scientific understanding leaves open certain ultimate questions, and thus allows for belief in a creator, but also for religious naturalism or serious agnosticism. By analysing the place of values in a world of facts, and the quest for meaningful stories in a material world, Religion and Science in Context offers an original and self-critical analysis of the field, its assumptions and functions, and ends with a vision of its possible future.

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That the longstanding antagonism between science and religion is irreconcilable has been taken for granted. And in the wake of recent controversies over teaching intelligent design and the ethics of stem-cell research, the divide seems as unbridgeable as ever.In Science vs. Religion, Elaine Howard Ecklund investigates this unexamined assumption in the first systematic study of what scientists actually think and feel about religion. In the course of her research, Ecklund surveyed nearly 1,700 scientists and interviewed 275 of them. She finds that most of what we believe about the faith lives of elite scientists is wrong. Nearly 50 percent of them are religious. Many others are what she calls "spiritual entrepreneurs," seeking creative ways to work with the tensions between science and faith outside the constraints of traditional religion. The book centers around vivid portraits of 10 representative men and women working in the natural and social sciences at top American research universities. Ecklund's respondents run the gamut from Margaret, a chemist who teaches a Sunday-school class, to Arik, a physicist who chose not to believe in God well before he decided to become a scientist. Only a small minority are actively hostile to religion. Ecklund reveals how scientists-believers and skeptics alike-are struggling to engage the increasing number of religious students in their classrooms and argues that many scientists are searching for "boundary pioneers" to cross the picket lines separating science and religion.With broad implications for education, science funding, and the thorny ethical questions surrounding stem-cell research, cloning, and other cutting-edge scientific endeavors, Science vs. Religion brings a welcome dose of reality to the science and religion debates.

The Big Questions in Science and Religion explores these ten queries to determine whether religious beliefs can survive in the scientific age. Author Keith Ward, an expert in the field of world religions, devotes a full chapter to each question, wherein he considers concepts from Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity, alongside the speculations of cosmologists, physicians, mathematicians, and philosophers.

The authors of Making Sense of Science and Religion believe that addressing interactions between science and religion is part of all science educators' collective job-- and that this is the book that will help you facilitate discussion when the topic of religion comes up. Designed for teachers at all grade levels, the book will help you anticipate and respond to students' questions-- and help students reconcile their religious beliefs even as you delve into topics such as evolution, geochronology, genetics, the origin of the universe, and climate change. The book is divided into three parts: 1.Historical and cultural context, plus a framework for addressing science-religion issues in a legal, constitutional manner. 2.Guidance on teaching specific scientific concepts at every grade level: elementary, middle, and high school science, as well as college and informal science settings. 3.Advice for engaging families, administrators, school boards, legislators and policy makers, and faith communities. The book' s authors are all personally and professionally invested in the subject. They are a mix of K- 12 teachers, college professors, and experts from organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. They know that teaching about the interaction between science and religion is not easy. But they also know that educators have an ethical obligation to minimize the perceived conflict between science and religion. As the authors write, " When students hear a consistent message during science instruction-- that they can learn science while maintaining their religious beliefs-- they are much more willing to learn regardless of messages to the contrary that they might hear outside of your classroom."

The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, one that has relevance to everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce. This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific theories and practices. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.

A comprehensive and accessible survey of the major issues at the biology-religion interface.