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| The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks (at times, primarily) to acknowledge revelation, faith and sacredness. Some scholars say science and religion are separate, as in John William Draper's conflict thesis and Stephen Jay Gould's non-overlapping magisteria, while others (John Lennox, Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, Ken Wilber, et al.) propose an interconnection. |
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| Science, and particularly geometry and astronomy, was linked directly to the divine for most medieval scholars. The compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of creation. |
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Alphabetical Listing:
AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. In addition to organizing membership activities, AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.
AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) facilitates communication between scientific and religious communities. The program builds on AAAS's long-standing commitment to relate scientific knowledge and technological development to the purposes and concerns of society at large.
American Academy of Religion (AAR)
As a learned society and professional association of teachers and research scholars, the American Academy of Religion has over 10,000 members who teach in some 1,500 colleges, universities, seminaries, and schools in North America and abroad. The Academy is dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and manifestations. This is accomplished through Academy-wide and regional conferences and meetings, publications, programs, and membership services.
Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS)
CTNS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to research, teaching and public service. The central scientific focus of CTNS is on developments in physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, and genetics, with additional topics in the neurosciences, the environmental sciences, and mathematics. With regard to the theological task, CTNS engages in both Christian and multi-religious reflection. The Christian theological agenda focuses on the various doctrinal loci of systematic theology. The multi-religious agenda attends primarily to theological issues arising from the engagement between the sciences and religious traditions such as Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and indigenous spiritualities.
Counterbalance Foundation
Counterbalance is a non-profit educational organization working to promote the public understanding of science, and how the sciences relate to ethical and religious concerns. It is our hope that individuals, the academic community, and society as a whole will benefit from a struggle toward integrated and counterbalanced views on these complex issues.
Division 36 - Psychology of Religion
Division 36 of the American Psychological Association, Psychology of Religion, promotes the application of psychological research methods and interpretive frameworks to diverse forms of religion and spirituality; encourages the incorporation of the results of such work into clinical and other applied settings; and fosters constructive dialogue and interchange between psychological study and practice on the one hand and between religious perspectives and institutions on the other. The Division is strictly nonsectarian and welcomes the participation of all persons who view religion as a significant factor in human functioning. The Division's quarterly Psychology of Religion newsletter contains original articles, book reviews, announcements, and news of interest to division members.
Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion (IASR)
The Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion is an independent, not for profit, organization that is committed to promoting the scientific study of religious thought and behaviour and advancing a general scientific understanding of religion. The research and educational activities of the Institute presuppose a framework of inquiry within which the study of religion is integrated with the social and natural sciences and directed toward the development of empirically testable theories.
The Institute’s primary functions are to foster a type of research currently under-appreciated and underdeveloped in most academic contexts, to support intellectual exchanges through symposia, colloquia, and conferences on central problems in the field, and to disseminate the results of such collaborative and interdisciplinary work. The Institute will also undertake to support other organizations committed to the same goals.
International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion (IACSR)
The objective of the IACSR is to promote the cognitive science of religion through international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject. This objective is attained through scholarly activities such as the arrangement of biennial conferences as well as interim local meetings, the encouragement of research projects and support of scholarly publications, and the exchange of information through electronic or other means. The biennial conferences for 2008 and 2010 are currently being planned (with the 2010 conference being proposed to meet in conjunction with the 20th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions in Toronto).
Metanexus Global Network (MGN)
The Metanexus Global Network is an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, international network dedicated to discovering and applying transdisciplinary approaches to the most profound questions of life, the cosmos, and humanity. It consists of individuals and groups of scholars, researchers, teachers, representatives of faith communities, and engaged citizens who seek, beyond the knowledge generated by the various fields of research and human endeavor, to explore the prospects for synthesis, wholeness, and the unity of knowledge. In short, the Metanexus Global Network exists in the service of the quest for wisdom. |
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