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.

"One of the many virtues of Joshua Moritz's well-structured and wide-ranging introduction to the relation between science and religion is its resourceful use of historical scholarship to illuminate the origins and demonstrate the limitations of an all-pervasive conflict model. Ambitious and controversial in its bid to replace conflict with peace at every opportunity, Science and Religion will be accessible and stimulating for a general audience, as well as constituting what will prove to be a successful student text." --John Hedley Brooke University of Oxford What happens when religious faith meets scientific facts? Many believe that conflict defines the relationship between science and religion, especially the Christian religion. But the war between faith and science is a myth--a very popular myth--that has endured for too long. By investigating the root of this myth and reexamining its classic stories, Science and Religion: Beyond Warfare and Toward Understanding offers a more accurate relationship between science and religion. With a focus on Christianity, the text explores causes of contemporary conflicts and cases in which science and religion have interacted in mutually beneficial ways to demonstrate that, in the relationship between science and religion, harmony is more common than discord. Joshua M. Moritz is a lecturer of philosophical theology and natural science at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and an adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of San Francisco.

Fully comprehensive textbook covering the issues, methods and relations between religion and science throughout history and up To The modern day.

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The field of `science and religion' is exploding in popularity among both academics and the reading public. This is a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to the debate, written by the leading experts yet accessible to the general reader.

This introductory text provides students with a 'toolbox' of approaches for analyzing religion and popular culture. It encourages readers to think critically about the ways in which popular cultural practices and products, especially those considered as forms of entertainment, are laden with religious ideas, themes, and values. The chapters feature lively and contemporary case study material and outline relevant theory and methods for analysis. Among the areas covered are religion and food, violence, music, television and videogames. Each entry is followed by a helpful summary, glossary, bibliography, discussion questions and suggestions for further reading/viewing. Understanding Religion and Popular Culture offers a valuable entry point into an exciting and rapidly evolving field of study.

Have you ever wondered: Why two diametrically opposite explanations of ourselves -- Religion and Science -- coexist? As this book explains, the reason is, one explanation began before the other. The first explanations development began thousands of years ago when our gradually evolving brains and minds awoke to an unknown, possibly threatening environment. Unfortunately, attempts to explain this strange environment were frustrated by illusions such as the apparent motion of the sun, moon and stars around the earth, which clouded our limited observational capability, such as our inability detect constant motion, thwarting the developing human minds ability to correctly explain observations. These limitations ultimately led to a totally incorrect explanation: we reside in a very small, young, unchanging universe revolving about us, created by a supernatural being - God -- a belief system termed Religion. About 500 years ago, the formulation of the second explanation was initiated when astute investigators such as Copernicus and Galileo, using improved new observation instruments such as the telescope and microscope, began to realize the existing illusion based religious explanations could not possibly be correct. Author Lawrence Wood introduces the brilliant investigators who resolved the illusions by developing radically new explanations of the illusions, an explanation system termed Science, many still cannot accept hence, the coexistence of religion and science. If you are one of those, trying to bridge the gulf between your religious beliefs which have become increasingly difficult to accept and the strange new world of science, this book will help you immeasurably!