Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion

Military advantage, scientific knowledge, and commerce have thus far been the main motives to human exploration of outer space. Touching the Face of the Cosmos explores what may be the best motive of all, largely untapped: the desire of every human being, essentially spiritual, to understand more about our place in the universe, how our lives on Earth are inextricably part of that bigger picture. Drawing on leading scientists,religious thinkers, and science fiction writers―including a new interview with John Glenn and an essay by Director of the Vatican Observatory Guy Consolmagno, S.J.―Paul Levinson and Michael Waltemathe have assembled a volume that puts space travel and religion on the map for anyone interested in outer space, theology, and philosophy.

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, and author of 16 scholarly books and novels, including Realspace: The Fate of Physical Presence in the Digital Age, On and Off Planet.

Michael Waltemathe, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in Religious Education, Department of Protestant Theology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, and author of Computer Worlds and Religion, and articles about science, religion, and outer space.