science and religion Archives - International Society for Science & Religion (ISSR)

September 2026 Blog

September 2026 Blog

The Science and Theology of Chanting Fraser Watts Scientific research on spiritual practices is very unevenly distributed. So far there has been most research on yoga and mindfulness, but relatively little on many other spiritual practices. Correcting that was the motivation behind the series of grants given by TWCF for research on the Science of Religious and Spiritual Exercises (SORSE). ISSR received one of those grants, with a particular focus on comparing practices that use human psychological resources in different ways. ISSR has also helped with the administration of another SORSE grant to Miguel Farías, From the Heart: Testing the Efficacy of Heart-Centered Contemplation. Chanting is a widely used spiritual practice, found in almost every faith tradition (e.g. Sheldrake, 2017, chapter 6). Until recently there was

ISSR 2026 Book Prize Winners

ISSR 2026 Book Prize Winners

For the seventh year, the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) has continued to run the ISSR Book Prize, which began with a generous donation from the Templeton World Charity Foundation. The Prize was established to understand ‘religion’ and ‘science’ broadly and to seek excellence in both content and communication. We aim to reward books from the past two years that make a major contribution to the field, especially those with the potential to take it in new directions. We offer prizes for one book in each of three categories: (1) suitable for a general audience (‘the public’); (2) for an academic audience; and (3) for a professional audience (e.g. ministers/pastors or school teachers). For 2026, ISSR is pleased to award the following prizes: In

By Anthony K Nairn|2026-09-03T21:07:16+01:00September 3rd, 2026|Categories: ISSR Statements|Tags: academic book awards, best science and religion books, book prizes 2026, Cambridge University Press, deep incarnation, eco-theology, ecological trauma, Fordham University Press, Helen De Cruz, history of science and religion, International Society for Science and Religion, ISSR, ISSR 2026 Book Prize, ISSR Book Prize, Peter Harrison, philosophy of science and religion, philosophy of wonder, Princeton University Press, psychology of awe, religion and science, science and faith, science and religion, science and theology, science communication, secular age, secularisation, Some New World, Some New World Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age, supernatural belief, Templeton World Charity Foundation, Timothy Middleton, trauma theology, Witnessing a Wounded World, Witnessing a Wounded World A Theology of Ecological Trauma, Wonderstruck, Wonderstruck How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think|

July 2026 Blog

July 2026 Blog

Helping Your Students Challenge Stereotypes about Scientists Through Wikipedia Jörg Matthias Determann A historian at a university in Qatar seeks to expand knowledge about science and religion by asking his students to edit the free encyclopedia. A Meta-Wiki Page Header Image Designed by the Wikimedia Foundation for Wikipedia’s 25th Birthday “Most scientists are atheists,” an undergraduate student of mine asserted toward the beginning of a history of science course I taught at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar in spring 2026. Intrigued, I wanted to find more about her sample. I asked her whether she thought that the scientists who were working on our own campus did not believe in God. She responded rather vaguely that she meant researchers “outside.” I quietly wondered how many physicists or

June 2026 Blog

June 2026 Blog

Medicine as Religion? Benjamin R. Doolittle, MD, MDIV Is the practice of medicine a religion? I have been a physician for 29 years and a church pastor for 35. I am struck by the similarities between my two vocations. Both disciplines require tell-tale vestments. In the hospital, I wear a long white coat; in church, a long black robe. In both, we enjoy poignant moments of gathering. On Sunday mornings, we gather in church with a spirit of reverence to reflect, ponder, grow together as a community. On Thursday mornings, for departmental grand rounds, our communal posture is no less reverent. In this weekly lecture, the learned professor elucidates the community of the latest scientific advances. In medicine, we even portray a devotion to sacred writ that

By Benjamin Doolittle|2026-06-16T01:05:21+01:00June 16th, 2026|Categories: Blog|Tags: Bioethics, Chaplaincy, faith, Healing Arts, Healthcare, Healthcare Professionals, Healthcare Systems, Humanism, Meaning in Medicine, Medical Education, Medical Ethics, Medical Humanities, Medical Practice, Medicine, Mental Health, Mental Health in Medicine, Pastoral Care, Philosophy of Medicine, Physician Advocacy, Physician Burnout, Physician Wellbeing, Physician Wellness, Professional Identity, religion, science and religion, Spirituality, Theology and Medicine, Work-Life Balance|

December 2025 Blog

December 2025 Blog

Is Scientific Inquiry an Intellectual Descendant of the Hebrews? Dru Johnson Could the Christian Bible contain the conceptual seeds of scientific inquiry? It seems odd to ask such a question about a notoriously religious collection of texts. However, in the milieu of ancient Near Eastern (ANE) literature, the Hebrew texts stand out as distinctively rational with regards to creation. By this, I am not referring to the standard line that, because creation is ordered for the Hebrews, we can therefore study it empirically and predictively. That may be correct. Rather, their depictions of human knowers in these Hebrew texts distinguish themselves amongst their peer traditions, and resonate with scientific inquiry today. Over seventy-five years ago, ANE scholars claimed that the Hebrew biblical literature uniquely contained a sustained

By Dru Johnson|2025-12-15T18:22:25+00:00December 15th, 2025|Categories: Blog|Tags: Ancient Near East, ANE, biblical philosophy, creation narratives, critical intellectualism, Dru Johnson, epistemology, Genesis, Hebrew Bible, Kuhn, Magisteria, Old Testament, philosophy of science, Polanyi, science and religion, scientific inquiry, skeptical mood|

September 2025 Blog

September 2025 Blog

Why inter-contextual engagement is essential for the science and religion relationships Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham Co-Director for Global Engagement ECLAS Member of the Anglican Communion Science Commission On the home page of the ISSR website the president, Prof Niels Gregersen, states that, “the landscape of science and religion is dynamic and ever changing”, and that, “As an international society, we are very conscious that we live in a pluralistic world, including a great diversity of religions, as well as many different sciences. We aim to make the Society as representative of this cultural diversity as possible”. The interesting challenge is how this more pluralistic conversation might be achieved in practice. As a relatively new Fellow of the ISSR, I am grateful for the opportunity via this

By Richard Cheetham|2025-09-16T00:06:25+01:00September 16th, 2025|Categories: Blog|Tags: AI and theology, Anglican Communion, Anglican Communion Science Commission, Augustine of Hippo, biodiversity and spirituality, Christianity and science, climate change and faith, community of truth, contextual theology, cultural diversity, dialogue on science ethics and religion, Durham University, ECLAS, ecumenical dialogue, faith and science, feminist theology, Francis Bacon, genetics and ethics, global perspectives, global theology, indigenous knowledge, inter-contextual dialogue, intercultural engagement, interfaith science dialogue, ISSR, King’s College London, Lambeth Conference, liberation theology, non-Western theology, pluralism, Pope Francis, postmodernism and truth, religion and science engagement, science and religion, Science for Seminaries, scientific literacy in faith communities, Scientists in Congregations, socio-economic and ethical perspectives on science, Templeton Foundation, theology and science, theology in context|

May 2025 Blog

May 2025 Blog

Humanity, Our Microbiome, and Our Relationship with God Dr John F Pohl MD DThM From a metaphysical perspective, advances in science are very helpful in expanding our definition and understanding of God. The discovery of a vast and expanding universe aids in our realization that humans are just a tiny part of God’s wonderful creativity. Ideas surrounding quantum indeterminacy suggest that the substratum of reality may indeed be random and, thus, have creative potential for nature. Do such metaphysical considerations exist in the biological sciences? Yes, when one considers the human microbiome and its effect on our species. The human microbiome is immense and consists of approximately 10¹³ microorganisms for which the majority of these tiny creatures exist within the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract.1,2 Although bacteria dominate the

By John Pohl|2025-05-17T20:48:50+01:00May 16th, 2025|Categories: Blog|Tags: Consciousness, divine experience, ecological theology, gut-brain axis, holobiont, human microbiome, interconnectedness, metaphysics, microbiota, Naturalismppp, open and relational theology, panentheism, panexperientialism, panpsychism., prehension, process theology, science and religion, spiritual health, subjectivity, theology|

Holmes Rolston III: In Memoriam Ted Peters Planet Earth will miss its renowned paladin, Holmes Rolston III (1932-2025). He died on February 12 this year. Holmes was an academic champion of environmental ethics and public policy who influenced philosophers, theologians, scientists, and the wider public. A New Environmental Ethics Like a biblical prophet, Holmes announces the coming of a day of judgment. “The worry for the next century is that humans may destroy their planet and themselves with it,” writes Holmes in the second edition of his A New Environmental Ethics (Rolston III, A New Environmental Ethics 2nd ed, 2020, 245). This is Holmes’ prophetic judgment: we Homo sapiens on Planet Earth are risking the destruction of our home. Unless, of course, we repent.

By Ted Peters|2025-03-16T05:02:25+00:00March 16th, 2025|Categories: Blog|Tags: Holmes Rolston III, religion, Science, science and religion, ted peters|

May 2024 Blog Post

May 2024 Blog Post

Science and Religion from the Ground Up What did fourteen-year old physician’s daughter Ellen Parry think about science and religion as Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837? What was she reading in her comfortable family home on the outskirts of Bath that helped her and others of her generation to navigate the latest scientific findings and contemplate their significance in relation to the feelings and concerns of everyday Christianity? And why might we care? So often, our histories of science and religion have been written from the perspectives of religious or scientific specialists – often male, often wealthy, often white. My new book Reading the Book of Nature: How Eight Best Sellers Reconnected Christianity and the Sciences on the Eve of the Victorian Age

November 2022 Blog

November 2022 Blog

John Polkinghorne – a dear academic, theological and personal friend Michael Welker In 1993 the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, under the leadership of Dan Hardy, sponsored a four-year consultation in which an interdisciplinary group of scholars (including the fields of cosmology, physics, biology, chemistry, environmental studies, philosophy, religious studies and theology) moved from an exchange via different disciplinary and individual academic approaches to the dialogue between science and theology. This is where John Polkinghorne and I met and first became intellectual friends and then, in the course of several years, also personal friends. Together we developed international and interdisciplinary consultations and conferences, cooperated in the publication of articles and books, and even wrote one book together. John received the prestigious Von Humboldt Research

By Michael Welker|2022-11-15T22:01:15+00:00November 15th, 2022|Categories: Blog|Tags: alfred north whitehead, bible, Cambridge, christ, england, eschatology, faith, god, john polkinghorne, metaphysics, michael welker, nature, physics, princeton, reality, religion, Science, science and religion, scripture, theology, usa|