Religion And Science In Context: A Guide To The Debates

Religion and Science in Context How should we think about religion, science and their relationship in modern society? Some religious groups oppose evolution; some atheists claim science is on their side. Others reconcile their religious beliefs with science, or consider science and faith to deal with fundamentally different aspects of human life. What indeed is religion: belief or trust in God’s existence? How do we distinguish sense from superstition? What does science have to say on such issues? Willem B. Drees considers contemporary discussions of these issues in Europe and North America, using examples from Christianity and religious naturalism and reflections on Islam and Tibetan Buddhism. He argues that the scientific understanding leaves open certain ultimate questions, and thus allows for belief in a creator, but also for religious naturalism or serious agnosticism. By analysing the place of values in a world of facts, and the quest for meaningful stories in a material world, Religion and Science in Context offers an original and self-critical analysis of the field, its assumptions and functions, and ends with a vision of its possible future. Willem B. Drees is Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics and vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University, the Netherlands, and the editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. Religion and Science in Context A Guide to the Debates Willem B. Drees First published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave., New York, NY 100016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Willem B. Drees All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Drees, Willem B., 1954– Religion and science in context : a guide to the debates / Willem B. Drees. – 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Religion and science. I. Title. BL240.3.D74 2009 2010 .65 – dc22 2009012932 ISBN 0-203-86960-5 Master e-book IS