Religion and science Books

Book SynopsisExplores the connections between materialist research on the atom and Rudolf Steiner's spiritual science.Table of ContentsAuthor's NoteIntroductionI. The Atom - A Historical Background (i) Prelude in Greece (ii) Elements and Principles (iii) The Way of Truth (iv) Atoms (v) Roadblock (vi) Atoms back in Vogue (vii) Making Waves (viii) Rudolf Steiner meets the Atom (ix) Rejection (x) The Age of Electricity (xi) The Electrical Atom and Human ThoughtII. A Background for Quanta (i) Origins (ii) Thermal Radiation (iii) Enter Max PlanckIII. Steiner in the Quantum Age (i) Physical Science and Spiritual Science (ii) The Goethean Alternative (iii) The Primal PhenomenonIV. Bohr's Atom -- Antecedents (i) Periodic Tables (ii) From Siberia with Love (iii) Predictions and Confusions (iv) The Hydrogen Spectrum (v) Cathode Rays (vi) The Unstable AtomV. The Rutherford-Bohr Atom (i) Bohr Gets Involved (ii) The Hydrogen Atom (iii) Beyond HydrogenVI. Late Words from Rudolf Steiner (i) A Science of Dead Matter (ii) The Demonic Atom (iii) Don't be an Ostrich (iv) The Struggle for Human Consciousness (v) So what about the Electron?VII. The Atom After Steiner (i) Waves and Particles (ii) Knabenphysik (iii) "Thou Shalt Make No Mental Image." (iv) Discontinuities and Probabilities (v) HBJ or the Three-Man-Paper (vi) Schrodinger's Wave Mechanics (vii) Indeterminacy (viii) Quantum Physics and the Periodic Table (ix) More about Probability (x) Niels Bohr -- A Goethean Physicist? (xi) Are Particles Real?VIII. EpilogueAppendixEndnotesBibliographyAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisA bestselling author and rabbi’s profoundly affecting exploration of the meaning and purpose of the soul, inspired by the famous correspondence between Albert Einstein and a grieving rabbi.

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Book Synopsis-JAMAAn important book, for students of Christian theology who understand health and healing to be topics of theological interest, and for health care practitioners who seek a historical perspective on the development of the ethos of their vocation.-Journal of Religion and HealthTrade ReviewThis book is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the intersection of religion and medicine... I expect this book to become required reading for many clinical health care and bioethics classes (as well as history classes). -- Sharon Packer Metapsychology Medicine and Religion will serve as a useful introduction to anyone - which means everyone - who will experience its twin themes. -- William Whyte Church Times This book is quite wonderful... It covers a large amount of history in the setting of a relatively short book, but the information that is contained in the eight chapters and epilogue is incredibly well presented in an easy-to-read manner. -- John F. Pohl Perspectives in Science and Christian Faith Gary B. Ferngren is familiar with the often volatile, always interesting intersections of science and religion. His Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction (2002) and Medicine and Healthcare in Early Christianity (2009), both published by Johns Hopkins University Press, made important contributions to the field. At last, instructors who wanted relatively succinct but authoritative treatments of these subjects had excellent additions to their classroom syllabi. This new book is no exception. -- Michael A. Flannery Medical History [Ferngren's book] will be particularly useful for students in divinity and religious studies and all those qualifying for social health care who might find themselves in search of new perspectives in caring for the sick and the dying in today's all too often spiritually deprived, cost-benefit-based health care institutions. Bulletin of the History of MedicineTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Ancient Near East2. Greece3. Rome4. Early Christianity5. The Middle Ages6. Islam in the Middle Ages, with Mahdieh Tavakol7. The Early Modern Period8. The Nineteenth and Twentieth CenturiesEpilogueNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisLivingstone concludes with contemporary examples to remind us that what scientists can say and what others can hear in different venues differ today just as much as they did in the past.Trade ReviewHow was Darwin's On the Origin of Species received by his contemporary scholars, particularly by theologians and religious authors? That is the subject of the thoroughly researched and elegantly written book by David N. Livingstone. -- Francisco J. Ayala Science, Religion and Culture Dealing with Darwin is a compelling account of how science is made in a process of transit. A theory such as Darwinian evolution is, after all, not a sealed package that is either accepted or rejected by its various audiences. Rather, as Livingstone's book vividly demonstrates, different versions of Darwin were appropriated, reconstituted and constructed to suit various local needs and theological or scientific contingencies. -- Gowan Dawson Journal of Historical Geography An informing and suggestive examination of the Darwinian episode. -- J. David Hoeveler Reports of the National Center for Science Education Dealing with Darwin has been many years in the making, but well worth waiting for. It is a delight to read, both from a literary and intellectual standpoint. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith In this illuminating book, our intrepid tour guide crafts a vivid portrait of the geographical, cultural, political, and racial dynamics that have shaped and often continue to characterize debates over Darwin. Dealing with Darwin is a welcome addition to Livingstone's growing library of compelling works on religion and science, pathbreaking research that upends the way many think about the historical interplay between Darwinism and religious belief. Isis Its most original contribution is in using cultural geography to study science and religion. Its most interesting point is that reactions to Darwin were also always about something else. And finally, its most inspiring accomplishment is the way it makes microhistories serve a compelling larger argument: it is a comparative collection of local studies whose sum is more than its parts. This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand the geography, whether actual or metaphorical, of nineteenth-century science-and-religion. British Society for Literature and ScienceTable of ContentsPreface1. Dealing with Darwin: Locating Encounters with Evolution2. Edinburgh, Evolution, and Cannibalistic Nostalgia3. Belfast, the Parliament of Science, and the Winter of Discontent4. Toronto, Knox, and Bacon's Bequest5. Columbia, Woodrow, and the Legacy of the Lost Cause6. Princeton, Darwinism, and the Shorthorn Cattle7. Darwinian Engagements: Place, Politics, RhetoricNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisAmerican creationists' efforts to export their beliefs have succeeded in Europe beyond their own expectations, winning followers across creed and country.For decades, the creationist movement was primarily situated in the United States. Then, in the 1970s, American creationists found their ideas welcomed abroad, first in Australia and New Zealand, then in Korea, India, South Africa, Brazil, and elsewhereincluding Europe, where creationism plays an expanding role in public debates about science policy and school curricula. In this, the first comprehensive history of creationism in Europe, leading historians, philosophers, and scientists narrate the rise ofand response toscientific creationism, creation science, intelligent design, and organized antievolutionism in countries and religions throughout Europe.Providing a unique map of creationism in Europe, the authors chart the surprising history of creationist activities and strategies there. Over the past forty yeTrade ReviewOne of the more fascinating late releases in science books this year... Highly recomended. Forbes This is a fascinating book... It takes what is a uniquely American phenomena and puts it into an entirely new context. -- Kevin Winter San Francisco Book Review This first comprehensive contribution on creationism in Europe skilfully traces the threads of historiography, Philosophy, Sociology, Biology and other sciences, from the 19th century to the 21st century, focusing on the rise of a response to the creation science, intelligent design, and antievolutionism in a variety of European countries and regions... Creationism in Europe is a provocative contribution to the current European and global historiography. It offers plenty of scope for developing new ideas that European scholars could take to their own research, and use to expand or modify their own perspective. -- Dr. Harieta Mareci Sabol European Journal of Science and Theology A significant contribution toward filling a major gap in the literature... Choice This science versus the Bible debate will not go away anytime soon. This book ought to be... essential reading for anyone involved in or concerned about the issues it raises. -- Peter Costello The Irish Catholic Creationism in Europe must be on our reading lists. -- M. Ruse Science & Education As a well-edited compendium of essays in which each chapter explores the history of organized creationism (and opposition to it) in a specific country or region, Creationism in Europe is both authoritative and comprehensive. The British Journal for the History of Science Creationism in Europe marks a serious advance in the social and historical understanding of antievolutionist activism in Europe. Isis This is a fine collection of essays on an understudied topic, and will provide an essential starting point for any further research of European creationism. It is uniformly well written, accessible to the non-specialist, and makes a vital contribution to the existing scholarship. British Society for Literature and ScienceTable of ContentsForeword, by Ronald L. Numbers Acknowledgments Introduction: Creationism in Europe or European Creationism? Chapter 1. France Chapter 2. Spain and Portugal Chapter 3. United Kingdom Chapter 4. The Low Countries Chapter 5. Scandinavia Chapter 6. Germany Chapter 7. Poland Chapter 8. Greece Chapter 9. Russia and Its Neighbors Chapter 10. Turkey Chapter 11. Catholicism Chapter 12. Intelligent Design Chapter 13. The Rise of Anti-creationism in Europe Afterword: Reclaiming Science for Creationism A Note on SourcesList of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisThis compelling book reveals that the Creation Museum is a remarkably complex phenomenon, at once a natural history museum at odds with contemporary science, an extended brief for the Bible as the literally true and errorless word of God, and a powerful and unflinching argument on behalf of the Christian right.Trade ReviewThe material unfolds engagingly because the Trollingers confront and rebut pseudoscientific zealotry...so readers emerge from our deep exposure to this culture feeling triumphant, sane, as we align with the authors in the camp of science and reason. Times Higher Education [T]he most compelling elements of the book focus on the history, evolution and construction of the museum as a cultural space and then explore how the Creation Museum fits into that history. ...As the Trollingers show repeatedly, Creationism has evolved a posture that steadfastly sidesteps any kind of serious debate. ...The book is at its best when it situates the Creation Museum within the longer history of how we present objects and organize knowledge. Los Angeles Times More than a tour, Righting America at the Creation Museum is about as thorough and detailed a text-based analysis of the Creation Museum as anyone could want. This book is a perceptive critical analysis of the museum's purposes, methods, and potential impact. Free InquiryTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Museum2. Science3. Bible4. Politics5. JudgmentEpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotesWorks CitedSuggestions for Further ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisWeissenbacher, Stephen P. Weldon, and Tomoko YoshidaTrade ReviewThe second edition of Gary Ferngren’s edited volume, Science and religion: a historical introduction, addresses a real need in the historiography and pedagogy of science and religion . . . the additions to the second edition of Ferngren’s Science and religion constitute a significant improvement.—Metascience. . . there are plenty of quality contributions here to justify purchase by those looking for an overview of the field or as use within an undergraduate classroom . . .—Reading ReligionThis second edition is more expansive and more in tune with contemporary discussions . . . For those who wish to get a good overview of the present status of science and religion as viewed by contemporary historians of science, this is a good book. It could also serve as an intellectually challenging introduction for undergraduates in a science/religion course.—Arie Leegwater, Calvin College, Perspectives on Science and Christian FaithTable of ContentsIntroductionPart I: Science and Religion: Conflict or Complexity?1. Science and Religion Stephen P. WeldonPart II: The Premodern Period2. Aristotle and AristotelianismEdward Grant and Craig Martin3. Early Christian Attitudes toward NatureDavid C. Lindberg and Gary B. Ferngren4. Science and Religion in Medieval Latin ChristendomMichael H. Shank and David C. Lindberg5. IslamAlnoor Dhanani and Glen M. CooperPart III: The Scientific Revolution6. The Copernican RevolutionOwen Gingerich7. Galileo GalileiRichard J. Blackwell and Michael H. Shank8. Early Modern ProtestantismEdward B. Davis9. Isaac NewtonStephen Snobelen10. Natural TheologyJohn Hedley BrookePart IV: Transformations in Geology, Biology, and Cosmology, 1650-190011. Geology and Paleontology from 1700 to 1900Nicolaas A. Rupke12. Natural History Peter M. Hess and John Henry13. Charles DarwinJames Moore14. EvolutionPeter J. Bowler and John Henry15. CosmogoniesRonald L. Numbers and Peter J. SusallaPart V: The Response of Religious Traditions16. The Bible and ScienceJohn Stenhouse17. Roman Catholicism since TrentSteven J. Harris and Mariusz Tabaczek18. Evangelicalism and FundamentalismMark A. Noll and Christopher M. Rios19. The Scopes TrialEdward J. Larson20. Judaism and SciencesNoah Efron21. Modern Western Science and Asian TraditionsTomoko Yoshida and Stephen P. Weldon22. AtheismJohn HenryPart VI: The Theological Implications of Modern Science23. PhysicsRichard Olson24. Modern CosmologiesCraig McConnell25. CausationJohn Henry and Mariusz Tabaczek26. The Modern Synthesis in EvolutionJoshua M. Moritz27. AnthropologyTimothy Larson28. American PsychologyMatthew S. Hedstrom29. Neuroscience and the Human PersonAlan C. Weissenbacher30. Ecology and the EnvironmentDavid N. Livingstone and Diarmid A. FinneganAcknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is a book worthy of reading, digesting, and emulating in its close analysis of science and religion. The Warfare between Science and Religion will give the reader a trustworthy account of the most recent scholarship about the religion science nexus.—Arie Leegwater, Calvin University, Perspectives on Science and Christian FaithHistorians of science have been attempting to destroy this myth—that science and religion have been perennially at war—for the past 40 years or so. Nonetheless, as the subtitle of the book conveys, this is the idea that wouldn't die. [The Warfare between Science and Religion] brings together a group of historian myth-busters who have been thinking about this question . . . One of the virtues of this book is that it also looks at science and religion interactions in Islam and Judaism as well as Christianity.—Peter Harrison and Charles J. Styles, Five BooksThe history of the assertion that science and religion are inevitably in conflict is dominated by two late nineteenth-century narratives; John William Draper's History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874) and Andrew Dickson White's A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896). The present very welcome volume contains seventeen essays that examine these classic texts, their reception by contemporaries and the subsequent history of the conflict thesis.—Geoffrey Cantor, University of Leeds, British Journal for the History of ScienceThe questions whether, why, and to what extent science and religion are in conflict has been one of the abiding motifs of Western culture. This collection by an international group of scholars covers the subject from a rich variety of angles . . . Those who are interested in the science-and-religion debate, and the impact of science as a cultural force, will find this book a fascinating read.—Peter Forster, Church TimesAccessible, historically illuminating, meticulous.—Quarterly Review of BiologyThe focus of this outstanding collection that criticizes the idea of conflict between science and religion, represents the historian John Hedley Brooke's call for attention to the complexities of history . . . The idea of warfare between science and religion largely deserves burial, but as these essays show, the sentiments for conflicts endure.—Paul J. Croce, Stetson University, Journal of American HistoryThe Warfare between Science and Religion is amply successful in its project of providing a historical understanding of the warfare thesis—or, better, of the warfare theses—over a broad historical and ideological range, through a series of accessible and interesting chapters. And it is a vitally important project, considering the persistence of conflicts involving science and religion in the United States.—Glenn Branch, National Center for Science Education, Reading Religion - Journal of the American Academy of ReligionTable of ContentsIntroductionMark A. Noll and David N. Livingstone 1. The Warfare Thesis Lawrence M. Principe2. The Galileo Affair Maurice A. Finocchiaro3. Rumors of War Monte Harrell Hampton 4. The Victorians: Tyndall and Draper Bernard Lightman5. Continental Europe Frederick Gregory6. Roman Catholics David Mislin7. Eastern Orthodox Christians Efthymios Nicolaidis8. Liberal Protestants Jon H. Roberts9. Protestant Evangelicals Bradley J. Gundlach10. Jews Noah Efron 11. Muslims M. Alper Yalçinkaya12. New Atheists Ronald L. Numbers and Jeff Hardin13. Neo-Harmonists Peter Harrison14. Historians John Hedley Brooke15. Scientists Elaine Howard Ecklund and Christopher P. Scheitle16. Social Scientists Thomas H. Aechtner17. The View on the Street John H. EvansContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1967. Monsman undertakes a comprehensive critical analysis of Walter Pater's fiction, which presents the critic with numerous causes of frustration, not the least of which is a lack of both dramatic narration and description. Pater is rarely vivid and firsthand in his fiction; he tends instead toward exposition. Monsman's emphasis in Pater's Portraits is tracing out the conscious artistic structure of Pater's fiction. The scope of Pater's writings comprises nothing less than Western culture itself; its subject is all that man has written, thought, said, sung, hoped, or prayed as a civilized creature over two and one-half millennia. Pater's success in handling such panoply is attributable to his discovery of a coherent pattern by which art, religion, and life can be organized. Monsman aims to discover in Pater's fiction the use of old scientific-religious patterns of myth to explain moments of religious and cultural awakening, to reveal the way in which one man aTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionI. Art and the Gods of ArtII. Portraiture and the Early PortraitsIII. Marius the Epicurean (1885)IV. The Collected Imaginary PortraitsV. Gaston de Latour (1888) and Religious BeliefVI. The Uncollected Imaginary PortraitsVII. Myth and MetaphorIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe essays provide good examples of the role that physico-theology played in the development of the sciences with which it was in conversation.—Thokozani Kamwendo, University of Durham, H-Net ReviewsThis volume presents the subject with excellent variety, yet editorially holds together well, serving as an introduction to the intellectual phenomenon of physico-theology.—Jason M. Rampelt, University of Cambridge, Perspectives in Science and Christian FaithPhysico-theology: Religion and Science in Europe, 1650-1750 , therefore, is a helpful and horizon-widening collection, which successfully adds something to an already rich, abundant, well-studied period in the history of science and religion.—Nick Spencer, Science and Christian BeliefTable of ContentsContributorsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction Ann Blair and Kaspar von GreyerzPart I. Terms and Purview of Physico-theologyChapter 1. Was Physico-theology Bad Theology and Bad Science? John Hedley Brooke Chapter 2. What's in a Name? "Physico-theology" in Seventeenth-Century England Peter Harrison Chapter 3. The Form of a Flower Jonathan Sheehan Part II. National TraditionsChapter 4. What Was Physico-theology For? Scott MandelbroteChapter 5. Physico-theology in the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Republic: The Case of Willem Goeree (1635–1711) Eric JorinkChapter 6. Back to the Roots? J. A. Fabricius's "Register of Ancient and Modern Writers" of 1728 Kaspar von GreyerzPart III. Styles of ReligiosityChapter 7. Miracles, Secrets, and Wonders: Jakob Horst and Christian Natural Philosophy in German Protestantism before 1650 Kathleen CrowtherChapter 8. "Rather Theological than Philosophical": John Ray's Seminal Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of Creation Katherine CallowayChapter 9. Matters of Belief and Belief That Matters: German Physico-theology, Protestantism, and the Materialized Word of God in Nature Anne-Charlott TreppChapter 10. Pascal's Rejection of Natural Theology: The Case of the Port-Royal Edition of the Pensées Martine PécharmanPart IV. Engagement with the New Science Chapter 11. Physico-theology or Biblical Physics? The Biblical Focus of the Early Physico-theologians Rienk VermijChapter 12. Maxima in minimis animalibus: Insects in Natural Theology and Physico-theology Brian W. OgilvieChapter 13. What Abbé Pluche Owed to Early Modern Physico-theologians Nicolas BruckerChapter 14. Antonio Vallisneri between Faith and Flood Brendan DooleyPart V. Aesthetic Sensibilities Chapter 15. A Language for the Eye: Evidence within the Text and Evidence as Text in German Physico-theological Literature Barbara HunfeldChapter 16. A Hybrid Physico-theology: The Case of the Swiss Confederation Simona Boscani LeoniBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisA critical edition of ten rare pamphlets on science and religion published from 19221931 by the University of Chicago Divinity School.In the years surrounding the Scopes trial in 1925, liberal Protestant scientists, theologians, and clergy sought to diminish opposition to evolution and to persuade American Christians to adopt more positive attitudes toward modern science. With funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and many leading scientists, the University of Chicago Divinity School published a series of ten pamphlets on science and religion to counter William Jennings Bryan''s efforts to ban evolution in public schools. In Protestant Modernist Pamphlets, historian Edward B. Davis, who discovered these pamphlets, reprints them with extensive editorial comments, annotations, and introductions to each. Based on unpublished correspondence and internal Divinity School documents, these introductions narrate the origin of the pamphlets, as well as their fund

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Book SynopsisReveals biases within scientific PhD training programs against emerging scientists who embrace a religious faith and the ramifications for scienceScience is often viewed as antithetical to religion, and it is true that scientists, particularly those who work at universities, are generally much less religious than the average American adult. So what is it like to be a religious individual pursuing an advanced education and career in science? Featuring engaging interviews and survey data from over 1,300 PhD students in the natural and social sciences, The Faithful Scientist shows that the core challenge is not contending with contradictions between faith-based beliefs and scientific knowledge. Instead, it is the bias budding scientific practitioners face from their colleagues if they are religious. These dynamics are important for science as a field, and ultimately for those who engage with or benefit from the results of scientific research. There are real benefits to fostering diversiTrade ReviewThis accessible and well-researched study of those who are both scientists and people of faith will be a vital resource for specialists who study religion and science. -- John H. Evans, Tata Chancellor’s Chair of Social Science, University of California, San DiegoCompellingly illustrates how religion and science are sources of social identity that shape aspiring scientists’ career paths in numerous ways. Scheitle deftly shows how graduate students reconcile religious belief with the supposed radical secularism of organized science. -- Timothy O’Brien, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

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Book SynopsisExplores the Christian Right's fierce opposition to science, explaining how and why its leaders came to see scientific truths as their enemyFor decades, the Christian Right's high-profile clashes with science have made national headlines. From attempts to insert intelligent design creationism into public schools to climate change denial, efforts to cure gay people through conversion therapy, and opposition to stem cell research, the Christian Right has battled against science. How did this hostility begin and, more importantly, why has it endured?Antony Alumkal provides a comprehensive background on the war on sciencehow it developed and why it will continue to endure. Drawing upon Richard Hofstadter's influential 1965 essay The Paranoid Style in American Politics, Antony Alumkal argues that the Christian Right adopts a similar paranoid style in their approach to science. Alumkal demonstrates that Christian Right leaders see conspiracies within the scientific establishment, with scientTrade Review"This is a volume for those who seek a better understanding of the USs contemporary cultural conflict." * Choice *"Particularly in today's America, where science, religion, and politics seem so inflammatory, Alumkal's calm voice of reason has much to offer." * Catholic Library World *"Particularly in todays America, where science, religion, and politics seem so inflammatory, Alumkals calm voice of reason has much to offer. Recommended for all libraries." * Catholic Library World *"Alumkals book is troubling and eye-opening." * Church & State *"Paranoid Science is a reliable and insightful guide to the fever swamps of evangelical science denial. A gripping, disturbing, and important contribution." -- Glenn Branch, Deputy Director, National Center for Science Education""A small but highly organized network of conservative Christians maintains a successful pseudo-scientific campaign to challenge established scientific topics including evolution, sexual orientation, bioethics, and climatology that they find threatening to their worldview. Alumkals unflinching critical analysis of their popular writings and educational media provides an excellent window into the political culture and theological motivations, mindsets and machinations within this movement. Fit for the times, Paranoid Science is engaging reading that elucidates the extent to which religious motivations can distort scientific inquiry for political ends. " -- Jerry Z. Park, Associate Professor of Sociology, Baylor University"Alumkal shows that hostility toward science -- including a kind of fearful contempt toward scientists -- is fairly palpable." * Inside Higher Ed *"Through extensive research, Alumkal provides a rich, nuanced, and detailed view of mid-20th-century American evangelicalisms right-wing political expression and its often dangerous impact on science in the service of the common good. His conclusions indicate that when such a powerful paranoia cannot be deescalated, it must be contained. Education and persuasion are the tools for change, and Alumkals book succeeds in both respects." * Publishers Weekly *"Paranoid Scienceoffers valuable insights about the ability of religious and scientific interests to rally public support and potentially influence public policy. It will be of interestto sociologist who study religion, science, social movements and to those interested in any of the four historical episodes that organize the books empirical chapters." * Sociology of Religion *"Alumkal pulls no punches here… Alumkal’s book deserves a place in the book collections of scholars of the Christian Right... There is much here that furthers our knowledge of a complicated and controversial political movement" -- American Journal of Sociology"An important and timely book." * Nova Religio *"Alumkal’s text is about the beliefs, politics, and propaganda of the Evangelical Right in American Christianity [...] Paranoia is the leitmotif that links the 4 chapters of this book." * IEEE Technology and Society Magazine *

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Book SynopsisA venture into the art and science of measuring religion in everyday life In an era of rapid technological advances, the measures and methods used to generate data about religion have undergone remarkably little change. Faithful Measures pushes the study of religion into the 21st century by evaluating new and existing measures of religion and introducing new methods for tapping into religious behaviors and beliefs. This book offers a global and innovative approach, with chapters on the intersection of religion and new technology, such as smart phone apps, Google Ngrams, crowdsourcing data, and Amazon buying networks. It also shows how old methods can be improved by using new technology to create online surveys with experimental designs and by developing new ways of mining data from existing information. Chapter contributors thoroughly explain how to employ these new techniques, and offer fresh insights into understanding the complex topic of religion in modern life. Beyond its quantitaTrade ReviewThis volume stands by itself as a unique social scientists guide to researching religion. An additional virtue of this volume is it provides many examples of how creativity can be deployed new methods for studying religion. Perhaps the most valuable thing readers may take from this volume is inspiration for the new and creative methods they might develop in their own areas of inquiry. * Sociology of Religion *The editors have brought together a useful collection of original chapters addressing various methodological matters that prompt its readers to think more carefully and innovatively about the measures we use to study religion and the means by which we do so. -- Review of Religious ResearchWhile seeming simple at first glance, measuring religion well in social science is exceedingly difficult, especially when comparing different societies and religious traditions. Serious efforts to improve and diversify measures of religion have, with few exceptions, been woefully lacking. Faithful Measures offers a decisive intervention in that situation, which both contributes and points the way to further advances. It is well worth the read for all scholars in the field. -- Christian Smith,Wm. R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, University of Notre DameFew scholars have done more than Finke and Bader to teach us how to measure religion. In Faithful Measures they and their collaborators show readers the best surveys on religion have to offer as well as the newest innovations for understanding religion. Their book should be read by anyone concerned about how religion is changing across the globe and how we might better measure those changes. -- Elaine Howard Ecklund,Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Rice UniversityWith contributions from established and emerging scholars and practitioners across the social sciences as well as data and computer scientists, Faithful Measures aims to bring the study of religion into step with the technological advances of the twenty-first century. * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisToday we hear renewed calls for a dialogue between science and religion: why has the old question of the relations between science and religion now returned to the public domain and what is at stake in this debate? To answer these questions, historian and sociologist of science Yves Gingras retraces the long history of the troubled relationship between science and religion, from the condemnation of Galileo for heresy in 1633 until his rehabilitation by John Paul II in 1992. He reconstructs the process of the gradual separation of science from theology and religion, showing how God and natural theology became marginalized in the scientific field in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In contrast to the dominant trend among historians of science, Gingras argues that science and religion are social institutions that give rise to incompatible ways of knowing, rooted in different methodologies and forms of knowledge, and that there never was, and cannot be, a genuine dialogue between them. Wide-ranging and authoritative, this new book on one of the fundamental questions of Western thought will be of great interest to students and scholars of the history of science and of religion as well as to general readers who are intrigued by the new and much-publicized conversations about the alleged links between science and religion.Trade Review‘In this forceful and fascinating polemic, a leading historian and sociologist of the sciences takes up arms against recent calls for dialogue between science and religion. In a survey of past centuries of conflict, censorship and apologetics, and a telling analysis of modern initiatives to establish new kinds of relations between science and religion, Gingras argues that the sciences have achieved autonomous status by building social organizations not to be reconciled with the claims of faith. This book represents an important and provocative intervention in a debate of great contemporary significance.’Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science, University of Cambridge ‘Yves Gingras’ gripping account of four centuries of conflict between religion and science provides a wonderful antidote to the insistent calls for “dialogue”.’Alan Sokal, Professor of Physics, New York University“The science–religion issue will intrigue us for a long time to come. It is interesting in its own right, but it is also of prime concern to any civilization struggling to get things right. Yves Gingras’s Science and Religion: An Impossible Dialogue has contributed a great deal to a better historical understanding."MetascienceTable of Contents Contents Introduction 1 The Theological Limits of the Autonomy of Science 2 Copernicus and Galileo: Thorns in the Sides of Popes 3 God: From the Center to the Periphery of Science 4 Science Censored 5 From Conflict to Dialogue? 6 What Is a "Dialogue" Between Science and Religion? 7 Belief Versus Science Conclusion: Betting on Reason Notes Index

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Book SynopsisIn a time when the relation of theology to science is in question, due in part to the unwitting fideism of religious fundamentalists and, conversely, as a result of the equally fundamentalist diatribes of the so-called “New Atheists,” How Science Enriches Theology provides a much-needed demonstration of the possibility and necessity for dialogue and integration between the two perspectives or fields of inquiry. Far from being in the unhappy throes of divorce, theology and science must renew their common commitment to the use of reason! This work is written by two formidable thinkers who have each written extensively on the foundations of natural science and related issues – including the inherently evolutionary nature and development of the cosmos. Now they team up to show the fruitful impact of science on theology as a use of reason in the service of Christian faith. In its philosophical or ‘cenoscopic’ foundations, science can support the truths of monotheistic faith and provide a corrective to both materialist and spiritualist forms of monism. Meanwhile, with the advance of science in the modern sense, the special sciences as ‘ideoscopic,’ we can see not only the traces of God’s existence, but of the Trinitarian nature of God, the Divine Persons of the Godhead, as proposed in Christian faith. Make no mistake, the authors are sure to uphold the indemonstrability of Christian-specific doctrines, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation; but, with Augustine and Aquinas, they affirm that creation is rife with traces of the divine. The validity of theology does not reduce to the deliverances of the modern sciences, but the latter can undoubtedly aid the person of faith in the “evolution” of his or her theological understanding and embrace of faith as beyond – but not contrary to – reason properly exercised. For example, the immensity and depth of our universe, as indicated alike by relativity theory and quantum theory, along with the biological, chemical, and physical diversity and dynamic stability contained within the universe’s vast limits, enrich our understanding of God the Father. Our universe’s order, uniqueness, and intelligibility suggest how we may better understand the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ. While further the evolution, freedom, and plenitude of the cosmos reveal the character of God the Holy Spirit. In How Science Enriches Theology, Ashley and Deely present a veritably “theosemiotic picture” of the universe, and one which avoids the naïve reductionisms of mind to matter, culture to society, biology to physics, and cenoscopic to ideoscopic science. But not only do the authors of this stellar book explore the diverse riches of creation’s many nooks and crannies; they do not balk at concluding with the speculative but inevitable question, Where is creation headed?, while also providing a tentative answer to how we might reconcile the inevitable consequences of the Second Law of Thermodynamics with the Book of Revelation’s eschatological promise of a New Heavens and a New Earth.

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Book SynopsisThis landmark book, first published in 1987, is now back in print, with a new introduction by its award-winning author. An interdisciplinary approach to the central themes of scientific and religious thought, this book was widely heralded upon its publication for the richness and depth of its contribution to the science and religion dialogue. “notable for its breadth and depth . . . filled with admirably argued and powerfully presented treatments of critical issues.”—Joseph Pickle, Colorado College, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science “a superb and subtle book.”—David Foxgrover, Christian Century “a monumental work . . . [T]he book is truly outstanding.”—John H. Wright, Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, Theological Studies “Rolston’s presentation of the methods of science, along with up-to-date summaries of the main achievements of the various sciences, is commendable for its clarity and critical acumen.”—Choice According to Holmes Rolston III, there are fundamental questions that science alone cannot answer; these questions are the central religious questions. He uses the scientific method of inquiry to distill key issues from science, and then he integrates them in a study that begins with matter and moves through life, mind, culture, history, and spirit. Incorporating religious and scientific worldviews, he begins with an examination of two natural sciences: physics and biology. He then extrapolates examples from two human sciences: psychology and sociology. Next, he moves to the storied universe and world history, raising and addressing religious questions. “Never in the histories of science and religion have theopportunities been greater for fertile interaction between these fields, with mutual benefits to both,” states Rolston. The re-publication of this book provides current researchers and students in the field an invaluable, timeless methodological resource.The new introduction offers updated insights based on new scientific research. Table of Contents Preface / vii Introduction to the 2006 Edition. Human Uniqueness and Human Responsibility: Science and Religion in a New Millennium / xi An Open Future / xii Matter, Energy, Information / xiv Genetics: Past, Present, and Future / xviii Human Uniqueness: Brain, Mind, Culture / xxiv Mind Knowing Nature: Realism and Social Construction / xxxi Science and Conscience / xxxv Historical and Cruciform Nature: Life Persisting in Perishing / xxxix Chapter 1. Methods in Scientific and Religious Inquiry / 1 Theories, Creeds, and Experience / 1 Models, Patterns, Paradigms / 8 Objectivity and Involvement / 16 Scientific and Religious Logic / 22 Chapter 2. Matter: Religion and the Physical Sciences / 33 Newtonian Mechanism / 34 Quantum Mechanics and Indeterminacy / 41 Relativity and Matter-Energy / 54 Microphysical and Astrophysical Nature / 65 Chapter 3. Life: Religion and the Biological Sciences / 81 Biochemistry and the Secret of Life / 82 Evolution and the Secret of Life / 90 The Cybernetics of Life / 124 The Life Struggle / 133 Chapter 4. Mind: Religion and the Psychological Sciences / 151 The Possibility of a Human Science / 151 Religion and Freudian Psychoanalysis / 159 Religion and Behavioral Science 170 Religion and Humanistic Psychologies / 183 Chapter 5. Culture: Religion and the Social Sciences / 198 Society and the Individual: Models, Laws, Causes / 200 Interpretive Social Science / 210 Religion as a Social Projection / 219 Values in Social Science / 226 Chapter 6. Nature and History / 238 Nature after Science / 238 Hard Naturalism / 247 Soft Naturalism / 253 Eastern Perspectives / 258 The Dimension of History / 269 Suffering / 286 Chapter 7. Nature, History, and God / 297 Nature and Supernature / 298 Scientific-Existentialist Theism / 306 Process Theism / 315 Transscientific Theism / 322 Insight in Science and Religion: Doing the Truth / 335 Index / 349

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Book SynopsisWhether as a historian finding solutions to unresolved problems or as a scientist finding the causes for events and actions, Luther Martin's primary focus has been to get to the roots of the religious impulse in human existence. This collection of essays from scholars of his own generation and from his best students cover the three major strands of his work: the Greco-Roman world, cognitive science approaches to explaining religious phenomena and methodological issues in the academic study of religions. The contributions build on the work of Luther Martin and further the ongoing discussion and debate within these areas of religious studies.Table of Contents1. Ancient and Modern Approaches to the Representation of Supernatural Beings: Dio Chrisostom (Oration 12) and Dan Sperber (Explaining Culture) Compared Roger Beck, University of Toronto 2. Gnosis in European Religious History Ulrich Berner, University of Bayreuth 3. The First Shall be the Last: The Gospel of Mark after the First Century Willi Braun, University of Alberta 4. Comparative Religion Scholars in Debate: Theology vs History in Letters Addressed to Ugo Bianchi Casadio Giovanni, University of Salerno 5. Why did Greek and Romans Pray Aloud? Anthropomorphism, 'Dumb Gods' and Human Cognition Chalupa Ales, Masaryk University 6. Reflections on the Origins of Religious Thought and Behavior Armin W. Geertz, Aarhus University 7. Why is it Better to be a Plant than an Animal? Cognitive Poetics and Ascetic Ideals in the Book of Thomas the Contender (Nhc II, 7) Ingvild Saelid Gilhus, University of Bergen 8. Miracles, Memory and Meaning: A Cognitive Approach to Roman Myths Alison B. Griffith, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 9. 'Whatever Story Sings, the Arena Displays for you': Performance, Narrative and Myth in Graeco-Roman Discourse Gerhard van den Heever, University of South Africa 10. Religion and Violence: A Psychoanalytic Inquiry Marsha Aileen Hewitt, University of Toronto 11. Disciplinary Clans Steven M. Hrotic, Independent Scholar 12. The Social Capital of Religious Communities in the Age of Globalization Hans G. Kippenberg, Max-Weber College 13. Towards a Cognitive Historiography: Frequently Posed Objections Anders Lisdorf, Independent Scholar 14. How Science and Religion are More Like Theology and Commonsense Explanations than they are Like Each Other: A Cognitive Account Robert N. McCauley, Emory University 15. the Transmission of Hsitorical Cognition William W. McCorkle Jr., Tiffin University 16. Religion before 'Religion'? Russell T. McCutcheon, University of Alabama 17. The Discourse of a Myth: Diodorus Siculus and the Egyptian Theologoumena during the Hellenistic Age Panayotis Pachis 18. The History of Religions and Evolutionary Models: Some Reflections on Framing a Mediating Vocabulary William E. Paden, University of Vermont 19. Religion and Modern Culture Ioannis S. Petrou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 20. Do Relics Do? Making a Place for 'Presence' in the Comparative Study of Relics Douglas Robinson, Independent Scholar 21. Mithras in the Magical Papyri: Religio-Historical Reflections on Various Magical Texts Ennio Sanzi, Independent Scholar 22. The Use of Egyptian Tradition in Alexandria of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Self-display and Identity of Rulers, Ideology and Further Political Propaganda Kyriakos, Savvopoulos, Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies 23. Buddhist Hymns and Medieval Plainsong: Some Reflections on the Links between Neuroscience, Music and Religion Kevin Trainor and Anne Clark, Independent Scholars 24. Citations of Biblical Texts in Greek, Jewish and Christian Inscriptions of Late Antiquity: A case of Religious Demarcation Ecaterini, Tsalampouni, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki 25. Memorable Religions: Transmission, Codification and Change in Divergent Melanesian Contexts Harvey Whitehouse, Magdalen College, Oxford 26. Recovering 'Religious Experience' in the Explanation of Religion Donald Wiebe 27. Can the Study of Religion be Scientific? Dimitris Xygalatas, Aarhus University Hospital

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Book SynopsisPaths Between Head and Heart provides an accessible but comprehensive account of how science and spirituality relate, not as enemies, but as partners in the quest for a truth that is greater than either one can understand alone. While many books have been written on science and religion, not many have looked at how spirituality and science exist as complementary parts of a larger whole, and how they relate specifically to the transitional challenges that define our era. '...explains the paradox of the unity of science and spirituality. Oliver Robinson shows that these two ways of looking at the world, so often seen as opposing forces, actually come from the same source...' Jennifer Kavanagh, author of The World is Our Cloister

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Book SynopsisSomething has gone terribly wrong. We face a spiritual crisis, but the extremes of religious fundamentalism on one hand, and scientific atheism on the other, offer no cure. Scepticism is soaring, especially among Millennials. Daily, we read of scandals among our politicians, priests and Hollywood stars. Mass shootings are epidemic, yet entertainment media glorifies violence. Drugs, not 'religion' as Karl Marx claimed, are now the 'opiate of the masses'. 'Christian' TV preachers use donations to purchase private jets and mansions, while children starve. The White House has claimed that 'Truth is not the truth'. Our leaders and institutions have lost all moral authority. A common religious response to crisis is to thump the Bible harder and louder. This book challenges us to go beyond a simple, childish belief. Dr Lance Moore offers an intelligent faith rooted in a respect for Scripture, while taking a fresh look at calcified orthodoxies. He invites readers to embrace paradox, in Spirituality and in Science, to rediscover God for our Quantum Age.

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Book SynopsisWhen we look at the world around us, one of the most common observations is that things have a tendency to go wrong. People make mistakes, have accidents and some of them commit deliberate acts of violence. Disease affects every single species of plant and animal on the planet. Natural disasters kill millions of people and decimate animal populations. Countless people and animals suffer through no fault of their own. Scientists explain these events in various ways depending upon whether they involve errors in human choices and actions or whether they are caused by natural events. Theologians give us a different set of religious explanations. At times it can appear as if there is a fundamental flaw in the universe. In this book, Adrian Hough uses his training and expertise as both a scientist and a theologian to approach this flaw from both directions and comes up with the astonishing result that both sets of reasoning might have the same fundamental explanation. Using this discovery he then develops a way of reconciling belief in a loving God with the hurt and damage which is caused when things go wrong.Trade ReviewA significant contribution to our understanding of suffering and evil as well as to the dialogue between science and theology. (Rt Revd Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter) Dr Hough frees Christian discussion of sin from the moraliser's bedroom and brings it into the laboratory, where he and his readers can engage in a proper study of why things go wrong, both theologically and scientifically, in our world. (Rt Revd David Walker, Bishop of Dudley)

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe renowned science writer, mathematician, and bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem masterfully refutes the overreaching claims the "New Atheists," providing millions of educated believers with a clear, engaging explanation of what science really says, how there's still much space for the Divine in the universe, and why faith in both God and empirical science are not mutually exclusive.A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more. In this much-needed book, science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provid

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion unites the theoretical and empirical work of leading scholars in the evolutionary, cognitive, and anthropological sciences to produce an extensive and authoritative review of this literature.Trade ReviewThis book offers a comprehensive, up-to-date collection of essays reviewing the most powerful explanations for the origins and evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors, authored by top experts in relevant disciplines, including a new and growing field labeled "cognitive science of religion." The main strength of this edited volume is its trans-disciplinary approach. The hows and whys of religious thinking and practices are examined through the lenses of anthropology, biology, and psychology * J-B. Leca, University of Lethbridge, Choice Connect *Table of Contents1. An Introduction to Evolutionary Perspectives on Religion James R. Liddle and Todd K. Shackelford 2. Mickey, Yahweh, and Zeus: Why Cultural Learning Is Essential for the Evolutionary Study of Religion Will M. Gervais 3. The Diversity of Religious Systems across History: An Evolutionary Cognitive Approach Pascal Boyer and Nicolas Baumard 4. Religion as Anthropomorphism: A Cognitive Theory Stewart Elliott Guthrie 5. Evolutionary Developmental Psychology of Children>'s Religious Beliefs Tyler S. Greenway and Justin L. Barrett 6. Belief, Ritual, and the Evolution of Religion Matt J. Rossano, Benjamin Vandewalle 7. Adolescence and Religion: An Evolutionary Perspective Candace S. Alcorta 8. Religion and Morality: The Evolution of the Cognitive Nexus John Teehan 9. The Kin Selection of Religion Bernard Crespi 10. The Coevolution of Religious Belief and Intuitive Cognitive Style via Individual-Level Selection Michael N. Stagnaro and David G. Rand 11. The Early Origin of Religion: Its Role as a Survival Kit Kenneth Kardong 12. The Elephant in the Pews: Reproductive Strategy and Religiosity Jason Weeden, Robert Kurzban, and Douglas T. Kenrick 13. Religion: An Evolutionary Evoked Disease-Avoidance Strategy John A. Terrizzi Jr. and Natalie J. Shook 14. Religion as a Means of Perceived Security: Testing the Secure Society Theory James R. Liddle 15. Charismatic Signaling: How Religion Stabilizes Cooperation and Entrenches Inequality John H. Shaver, Gloria Fraser, and Joseph Bulbulia 16. The Evolution of Religion and Morality Azim Shariff and Brett Mercier 17. The Roots of Intergroup Conflict and the Co-optation of the Religious System: An Evolutionary Perspective on Religious Terrorism Jordan Kiper and Richard Sosis 18. Selected to Kill in His Name: Evolutionary Perspectives on Religiously Motivated Violence Yael Sela and Nicole Barbaro 19. Supernatural Beliefs and the Evolution of Cooperation Pierrick Bourrat and Hugo Viciana 20. A Socio-Evolutionary Approach to Religious Change Ryan T. Cragun and J. E. Sumerau 21. The Evolution and Exploitation of Transcendence Gregory Gorelik 22. Challenges to an Evolutionary Perspective on Religion Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi Index

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