Scholars, Amateurs, and Artists as Partners for the Future of Religion and Science

Abstract

We recommend that the future of religion and science involve more partnerships between scholars, amateurs, and artists. This reimagines an underdeveloped aspect of the history of religion and science. Case studies of an undergraduate course examining religious ritual and technology, seminarians reflecting on memory and identity in light of Alzheimer's disease, environmentalists responding to their guilt and shame about climate change, and Chicagoans recognizing the presence of nature in the city show how these partnerships respect insights and experiences of our varied partners, identify and resolve community problems, and advance scholarship. Sourdough starter, a new metaphor, describes these collaborative, nourishing partnerships.

Reacting to Consecrating Science: What Might Amateurs Do?

“…This brings me to my final section of the article, a reflection on what Sideris's text and my suggested extension of her project bring to the study of religion and science. As I have written elsewhere with Lea F. Schweitz, I am concerned that science and religion scholars often overemphasize textual analysis and authoritative religious practices or leaders or scientific experts over religious practices and the experiences, beliefs, practices, and informal documents of laypeople, and thus their writing yields a limited picture of religion (Fredericks and Schweitz ). Sideris branches out from classic work in religion and science as she examines the work of new cosmologists who are sacralizing science rather than traditional religion.…”

Publishing in a Changing World

“…Our world is changing, so too has the landscape for “religion and science,” IRAS and Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science (see Hefner ; Peters , ). Science develops and religion is transformed under the influence of social changes (e.g., Drees , Fredericks and Schweitz ), while globalization works in many different ways (glocalization), but affects everything (e.g., Eaton ; Bagir ; Bauman ). Publishing a journal on religion and science thus has changed as well.…”

After Fifty Full Years, It's Nice Not to Know

“…It is a pragmatic labor of love, from authors and reviewers, the editor and all others who work together to make this a healthy journal. The world has kept changing; in recent issues, we offered reflections on our own history (Hefner ; Peters ), and on the way the world has changed, and those changes affect the future of religion and science (Bagir ; Bauman ; Fredericks and Schweitz ; Peters ). We also are well aware how diverse the world is, and thus have published a variety of essays from various parts of the world—Asia (Kim ; Li and Fu ), South Africa (Conradie and du Toit ), Europe (Evers ; Oviedo and Garre ), and Latin America (Silva ), and this issue develops the series with contributions on religion and science in Islamic countries with an article by Nidhal Guessoum and another from the Indian cultural context by Anindita Niyogi Balslev.…”