THRS 3130 - Religion and Science

5 credit hours
Formerly - THRS 313

The emergence of modern science has proved to be one of the biggest challenges to religious faith in our times. What was inspired in part by religious faith in many early scientists has today inspired to rejection of the possibility of transcendence. The image of religion and science as competing worldviews prevails not only in popular culture but even within academic circles. What often are missed are the complex historical and cultural contexts that give shape to the encounter between religion and science. This course will introduce students to three key historical moments in the encounter between religion and science, specifically that of the birth of modern physics, of the birth and development of evolutionary biology, and of contemporary cosmology. The course will examine the historical, epistemological, and ontological challenges presented by these pivotal scientific case studies along with theological responses to these challenges. The development of modern science has led to developments in theology, something that is often not appreciated in the pop-culture image of a progressive science pitted against an archaic religion. The course will enable the students to understand the roots of these popular images and move beyond them to a more nuanced understanding of the implications of science for theology and theology for science. CT