The field of religion and science is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of research today. This Companion brings together an outstanding team of scholars to explore the ways in which science intersects with the major religions of the world and religious naturalism. The collection provides an overview of the field and also indicates ways in which it is developing. Its multicultural breadth and scientific rigor on topics that are and will be compelling issues in the first part of the twenty-first century and beyond will be welcomed by students and scholars alike.
Providing a genuinely full guide to the theory and methods related to religious studies, this text - written entirely by world-renowned specialists - is the ideal resource for those studying the discipline.
There are deep and pervasive disagreements today in universities and colleges, and popular culture in general, over the credibility and value of belief in God. This has given rise to an urgent need for a balanced, comprehensive, accessible resource book that can inform the public and scholarly debate over theism. While scholars with as diverse interests as Daniel Dennett, Terry Eagleton, Richard Dawkins, Jürgen Habermas, and Rowan Williams have recently contributed books to this debate, "theism" as a concept remains poorly understood and requires a more thorough and systematic analysis than it has so far received in any single volume. The Routledge Companion to Theism addresses this need by investigating theism's history as well as its relationship to inquiry in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and to its wider cultural contexts. The contents are not confined within the philosophy of religion or even within the more expansive borders of philosophy. Rather, The Routledge Companion to Theism investigates its subject through the lens of a wide variety of disciplines and explores the ramifications of theism considered as a way of life as well as an intellectual conviction. The five parts of the volume indicate its inclusive scope: I. What is Theism?; II. Theism and Inquiry; III. Theism and the Socio-Political Realm; IV. Theism and Culture; V. Theism as a Way of Life. The result is a well ordered and thorough collection that should provide a wide spectrum of readers with a better understanding of a subject that's much discussed, but frequently misunderstood. As the editors note in their Introduction, while stimulating and informing the contemporary debate, a key aim of the volume is to open new avenues of inquiry into theism and thereby to encourage further research into this vital topic. Comprised of 54 essays by leading scholars in philosophy, history, theology, religious studies, political science, education and sociology, The Routledge Companion to Theism promises to be the most useful, comprehensive resource on an emerging subject of interest for students and scholars.
This book explores the historical relations between science and religion and discusses contemporary issues with perspectives from cosmology, evolutionary biology and bioethics.
Few issues apply universally to people as poignantly as death and dying. All religions address concerns with death from the handling of human remains, to defining death, to suggesting what happens after life. The Routledge Companion to Death and Dying provides readers with an overview of the study of death and dying. Questions of death, mortality, and more recently of end-of-life care, have long been important ones and scholars from a range of fields have approached the topic in a number of ways. Comprising over fifty-two chapters from a team of international contributors, the companion covers: funerary and mourning practices; concepts of the afterlife; psychical issues associated with death and dying; clinical and ethical issues; philosophical issues; death and dying as represented in popular culture. This comprehensive collection of essays will bring together perspectives from fields as diverse as history, philosophy, literature, psychology, archaeology and religious studies, while including various religious traditions, including established religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism as well as new or less widely known traditions such as the Spiritualist Movement, the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Raëlianism. The Routledge Companion to Death and Dying is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, philosophy and literature.
* A descriptive and analytical guide to the development of Western science from AD 1500, and to the diversity and course of that development first in Europe and later across the world * Presented in clear, non-technical language * Extensive indexes of Subjects and Names `Indeed a companion volume whose 67 essays give pleasure and instruction ... an ambitious and successful work.' - Times Literary Supplement `This work is an essential resource for libraries everywhere. For specialist science libraries willing to keep just one encyclopaedic guide to history, for undergraduate libraries seeking to provide easily accessible information, for the devisers of university curricula, for the modern social historian or even the eclectic scientist taking a break from simply making history, this is the book for you.' - Times Higher Education Supplement `A pleasure to read with a carefully chosen typeface, well organized pages and ample margins ... it is very easy to find one's way around. This is a book which will be consulted widely.' - Technovation `This is a commendably easy book to use.' - British Journal of the History of Science `Scholars from other areas entering this field, students taking the vertical approach and teachers coming from any direction cannot fail to find this an invaluable text.' - History of Science Journal
This unique and comprehensive volume looks at the study of literature and religion from a contemporary critical perspective. Including discussion of global literature and world religions, this Companion looks at: Key moments in the story of religion and literary studies from Matthew Arnold through to the impact of 9/11 A variety of theoretical approaches to the study of religion and literature Different ways that religion and literature are connected from overtly religious writing, to subtle religious readings Analysis of key sacred texts and the way they have been studied, re-written, and questioned by literature Political implications of work on religion and literature Thoroughly introduced and contextualised, this volume is an engaging introduction to this huge and complex field.
A Teacher’s Guide to Science and Religion in the Classroom provides practical guidance on how to help children access positive ways of thinking about the relationship between science and religion. Written for teachers of children from diverse-faith and non-faith backgrounds, it explores key concepts, identifies gaps and common misconceptions in children’s knowledge, and offers advice on how to help them form a deeper understanding of both science and religion. Drawing on the latest research as well as the designs of successful workshops for teachers and for children, there are activities in each chapter that have been shown to help children understand why science and religion do not necessarily conflict. The book highlights children’s interest in the so-called "Big Questions" that bridge science and religion and responds to the research finding that most children are missing ideas that are key to an explanation of why science and religion can be harmonious. The book explores key concepts and ideas including: Nature of science Power and limits of science Evolution, genes and human improvement Miracles, natural disasters and mystery Profiles of scientists, including Galileo and Newton A Teacher’s Guide to Science and Religion is an essential companion for preservice and practising teachers, providing session plans and pedagogic strategies, together with a cohesive framework, that will support teachers in fostering children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
This book presents a celebration, survey and critique of the theological work of arguably the most important and most widely-read contributor to the modern dialogue between science and theology: John Polkinghorne.Including a major survey by Polkinghorne himself of his life's work in theology, this book draws together contributors from among the most important voices in the science-theology dialogue today to focus on key aspects of Polkinghorne's work, with Polkinghorne providing responses. Anybody exploring contemporary aspects of the science-religion debate will find this book invaluable.
