A total of £2.3 million ($2.8 million) has been awarded to the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland for research and teaching of science-engaged theology.
The grant, awarded by the John Templeton Foundation, will fund an open online resource and two undergraduate scholarships.
“With this project, the University of St. Andrews is pioneering a wave of interdisciplinary research and teaching,” said Dr. John Perry, senior lecturer in Christian Ethics at St. Andrews in a statement. “Rather than generalizing about science and religion as abstract concepts, science-engaged theology draws specific sub-disciplines and theories together to solve concrete problems.”
The establishing of new courses and an online platform will incorporate current knowledge from the behavioral sciences into religious visions on what it means to be human. The hope is that the grant will facilitate greater collaboration between scientists and theologians for years to come.
Susan is an author with a long-time interest in religion and science. She currently edits Covalence, the Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology’s online magazine. She has written articles in The Lutheran and the Zygon Center for Religion and Science newsletter. Susan is a board member for the Center for Advanced Study of Religion and Science, the supporting organization for the Zygon Center and the Zygon Journal. She also co-wrote Our Bodies Are Selves with Dr. Philip Hefner and Dr. Ann Pederson.
