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.

Sir John Templeton dies at age 95
With great sadness, members of the International Society for Science and Religion received news of the death of Sir John Templeton on 8 July 2008. Members of ISSR gratefully acknowledge that it was Sir John’s vision and the support of the John Templeton Foundation that helped bring the ISSR into existence.

More on the life of Sir John may be found at the following web sites:

John Templeton Foundation
www.sirjohntempletonobituary.org/newsroom/press_releases/
sir_john_templeton/

New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/business/09templeton-cnd.html?hp

London Times
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4294891.ece

Cybrids and Chimeras
Scientific research based on the artificial creation of human-nonhuman organisms has proved highly controversial, sometimes for understandable reasons and sometimes through misinformation. ISSR has now asked two of its expert Members to write a report outlining both the scientific background to this issue and the ethical issues that it raises. The report may be read by clicking here.

Intelligent Design
ISSR, feeling the need for an authoritative statement on the controversial topic of 'Intelligent Design', has asked a committee of experts among its members to formulate such a statement. The resulting document has been accepted by the Society's Executive Committee, and may be read by clicking here.

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.