Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801870380 ISBN 13: 9780801870385

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Written by distinguished historians of science and religion, the thirty essays in this volume survey the relationship of Western religious traditions to science from the beginning of the Christian era to the late twentieth century. This wide-ranging collection also introduces a variety of approaches to understanding their intersection, suggesting a model not of inalterable conflict, but of complex interaction.

Tracing the rise of science from its birth in the medieval West through the scientific revolution, the contributors describe major shifts that were marked by discoveries such as those of Copernicus, Galileo, and Isaac Newton and the Catholic and Protestant reactions to them. They assess changes in scientific understanding brought about by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century transformations in geology, cosmology, and biology, together with the responses of both mainstream religious groups and such newer movements as evangelicalism and fundamentalism. The book also treats the theological implications of contemporary science and evaluates recent approaches such as environmentalism, gender studies, social construction, and postmodernism, which are at the center of current debates in the historiography, understanding, and application of science.

Contributors: Colin A. Russell, David B. Wilson, Edward Grant, David C. Lindberg, Alnoor Dhanani, Owen Gingerich, Richard J. Blackwell, Edward B. Davis, Michael P. Winship, John Henry, Margaret J. Osler, Richard S. Westfall, John Hedley Brooke, Nicolaas A. Rupke, Peter M. Hess, James Moore, Peter J. Bowler, Ronald L. Numbers, Steven J. Harris, Mark A. Noll, Edward J. Larson, Richard Olson, Craig Sean McConnell, Robin Collins, William A. Dembski, David N. Livingstone, Sara Miles, and Stephen P. Weldon.

About this title

About the Author

Gary B. Ferngren is a professor of history at Oregon State University and general editor of The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia.

Reviews

This volume consists of 30 articles, all taken from the 103-article The History of Science and Religion: An Encyclopedia (Garland, LJ 8/15/00). While exploding a number of myths that make up the popular image of the warfare between science and religion, the writers show that there was actually a complex relationship operating in both directions. Part 1 introduces the topic with two articles on the history of the relationship. The next three parts consider historical topics, some biographical (e.g., Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin), some religious (e.g., Islam, early modern Protestantism), and some topical (e.g., causation, evolution). Part 5 considers the response of religious traditions, Part 6 treats the theological implications of modern science, and the last part considers current historiographical issues, such as gender and postmodernism. Almost all of the articles are by authors who have written substantial works in their field, and each is accompanied by a bibliography. An essential purchase for any library that does not have the larger volume.
Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801870380
• ISBN 13: 9780801870385
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416
• Editor: Ferngren Gary B.