ADVANCED SEMINAR IN RELIGION AND SCIENCE

"How do religion, science and society need each other?"

The seminar will explore whether or not religion, science and society need each other and in what ways. How do religion and science relate to “the real world”?

In 1927 Reinhold Niebuhr asked “Does Civilization Need Religion?” Eight decades of developments in science, technology, society and religion later, the question has not lost its urgency. Does society need religion? If yes, what kind of religion does it need?

The seminar will approach the theme from four directions:

• Does religion need science?
• Does science need religion?
• Does society need science?
• Does society need religion?

Scholars from the fields of science, ethics, philosophy, sociology and theology will discuss the implications of various answers to these questions. We expect the seminar to increase the understanding of the nature of religion, especially in respect to its role in morality and ethics and its role in society. This in turn presupposes insights into the nature of science and the relationship between science, technology and society.

The seminar is designed as a research seminar for faculty and students. It will include guest lectures as well as presentations and responses by seminar participants.