Faraday Institute Short Course no. 21: Science, Religion and Atheism

Aim of Course

The aim of this course is to address questions such as ‘Does the science-religion discussion look any different if the narrators are atheists or theists?’. Thus, rather than holding a debate on the existence of God, we shall be addressing these topics: ‘Does the history of science and religion change depending on the narrator?’;’How do the philosophy of science and philosophy of religion look from atheist and theistic perspectives?’; ‘Does the evolutionary narrative, or the fine-tuning of the universe, tend to support atheism or theism?’ We have invited a balanced mix of atheists or agnostics and theists to speak at the course.

Speakers (listed in alphabetical order) and topics

See multimedia items for this course.

• Dr Allan Chapman : Does the History of Science and Religion Change Depending on the Narrator? A Theist’s View
• Simon Conway Morris FRS : Does the evolutionary narrative tend to support theism?
• Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker : Does the evolutionary narrative tend to support atheism?
• Revd Dr Rodney Holder : Is the Universe Designed? – a theist’s view
• Dr Stephen Law : Is the Universe Designed? – an atheist’s view
• Bernard Lightman : Does the history of Science and Religion change depending on the narrator? – some atheist and agnostic perspectives
• Michael Ruse : A Plague on Both Your Houses
• Dr Mark Vernon : An agnostic’s perspective on the philosophy of science and religion
• Revd Prof. Keith Ward : A theist’s perspective on the philosophy of science and religion

Venue

The conference will be held in Murray Edwards College, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DF.

Murray Edwards (formerly New Hall), a modern and friendly college for women, provides excellent conference facilities with good access. The college is set in 11 acres of wooded grounds with informal lawns and gardens.

You can find more information about Murray Edwards here.

For maps and directions click here.

Course Schedule