Forty Years of Science and Religion

This volume emerged from the 40th anniversary conference of the Science and Religion Forum last year. It was founded by Rev Dr Arthur Peacocke in 1975 - he went on to win the Templeton Prize for his work. It takes the opportunity of looking backwards and forwards in the field, which is adjacent but not identical to that of the Network. It focuses more on the relationship between Christian theology and science, while we are focused on relationships between science and spirituality, science and mysticism and science and consciousness. The first two parts are formal papers from the conference, and cover a wide range of themes. Alister McGrath, the current holder of the chair at Oxford for science and religion, provides a useful insight into multiple perspectives, levels and narratives as different ways of understanding the relationship. He also writes very clearly about scientism, a common concern and philosophical blinder for those who are unaware of it. The influence of Ian Barbour is evident in many papers.

Two that I found particularly interesting were, first, Fraser Watts' reflections on the Epiphany Philosophers, which also include Rupert Sheldrake and Chris Clarke as well as the Whitehead philosopher Dorothy Emmet (1904-2000), who took part in a couple of our seminars in the 1990s. Unusually, their focus was on the contemplative aspect of Christianity and, unlike many groups, they were open to parapsychology as well as forging radical ideas in biology and physics. The report of a survey of secondary school students about what teenagers believe about the soul was very intriguing as one could see how their thinking was shaped by their own experience as well as considerations from science and philosophy. Some of them were aware of the limitations of a scientific perspective confined to the physical. Another stimulating reflection came from Michael Fuller, questioning the thesis by Peter Harrison that advocates of constructive dialogue between science and religion are unknowingly complicit in the perpetuation of conflict. Overall, the book provides very good overview of the state of play in relationships between science and religion.