This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hrafn (talk | contribs) at 11:58, 22 January 2008 (→See also: Rm redlinked see-also). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 11:58, 22 January 2008 by Hrafn (talk | contribs) (→See also: Rm redlinked see-also)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "International Society for Science and Religion" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) is a learned society established in 2001 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion conducted where possible in an international and multi-faith context.
The Society took shape after a four-day conference in Granada, Spain, which until the late 15th century was the center of peaceful discourse between scholars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Membership
Membership is through nomination by existing members only. There were 97 founding members, including five Fellows of the Royal Society and the Society currently has approximately 125 members. The current president George Ellis and the previous (founding) president John Polkinghorne, both have distinguished backgounds in physics and are both recipients of the Templeton Prize. The society incorporates, and welcomes, representatives from a variety of faith traditions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam in addition to Christianity. Membership is also widely distributed geographically, with representatives inter alia from South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa as well as from Europe and America.
Categories for Nomination
| This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Nominations for membership of ISSR are made on the basis of three categories:
- Major contribution (e.g. books) to the field of science/religion; or
- Excellent standing in one of the relevant areas (science, religion, philosophy) together with sustained interest in or support of the science/religion debate; or
- Demonstration of excellent organizational and entrepreneurial skills within the science/religion arena.
Within the society as a whole, members comprise six broad membership categories which reflect the main ‘intersection points’ of the science-religion dialogue: biology, physics, human sciences, philosophy, theology and history. Debate both within and between these ‘Special Interest Groups’ is both lively and fruitful, incorporating such fundamental, and cutting-edge questions as purpose and design in the universe; the existence of multiverses; the origins and significance of profound mystical experience; the emergence of consciousness; multi-faith perspectives on key science-religion issues; and historical perspectives on the relationship between science and religion through the ages. The primary forum for such informed, and sometimes counter-intuitive debates is the society’s webpage on which members from the six interest groups are able to post key papers in their particular area of expertise for the benefit of those in different areas. The webpage also allows members of the public interested in the science-religion interface to discover what is in vogue with regard to current debates and key publications in the field.
Varieties of faith tradition
Although many of the founders of the ISSR are Christians, the society actively welcomes members from other faith traditions. The book Why the Science and Religion Dialogue Matters produced by the society has major contributions from:
- John Polkinghorne, George Ellis, Holmes Rolston III and Fraser Watts who are Christians
- Carl Feit on Judaism
- Munawar Anees on Islam
- B.V. Subbarayappa on Hinduism
- Trinh Xuan Thuan on Buddhism
- Heup Young Kim on Asian Christianity
Secretariat
The society’s central office is based in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. The Executive Secretary is Dr Christopher Knight.
See also
Notes & References
- basic details from the society's website
- List of founding members but John D. Barrow and John Houghton are not listed as FRS for some reason
- Why the Science and Religion Dialogue Matters book information]