Calendar

Upcoming events in religion and science

Human Origins Today (HOT) Topic: Dialogue on the relationship between scientific and religious perspectives on human evolution

May 25, 3pm-4pm

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

This informal discussion on human evolution from both science and religion points of view will be held in the Hall of Human Origins and led by Dr. Connie Bertka, co-chair of the Human Origins Program’s Broader Social Impacts Committee and Dr. Rick Potts, curator of the Hall of Human Origins. The event is free and there is no advance registration required. For more information see: http://humanorigins.si.edu/contact.

Science, Faith & the Media: the ASA 2012 Annual Meeting

July 20 through 23

San Diego, California

The annual conference of the American Scientific Affiliation will feature a myriad of topics related to public relations, social media and communications. Christians and science in film as well as human origins also will be discussed. Plenary speakers include: Jack Johnson, professor of the department of molecular biology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California; Dean Nelson, journalism professor and author; and Rebecca Ver Straten-McSparran, philosopher, theologian, instructor and director of the Los Angeles Film Studies Center. More information on the conference can be found at: https://asa3.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/annual_meeting_2012/ann_mtg_brochure_5.2.12.pdf.

The annual conference of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science will be held next summer in Lake George, New York. The focus is on the serious problems that threaten all of civilization and even human existence as a species. These include unsustainable world population growth, excessive consumption of natural resources, and climate change.

The IRAS conference in July 2012 will ask why the world’s peoples and nations are failing to deal effectively with the greatest threats to humanity in history. It will examine the root causes of the current unwillingness to take adequate action, be they human nature, culture, institutions and/or political/economic competition.

The conference will also consider recent progress in confronting these problems, highlighting examples of effective cooperative action at local, national and international levels. Local and community initiatives, in particular, will be highlighted as essential steps in demonstrating feasibility and changing opinion over against national efforts.

For more information on the IRAS annual conference visit: www.iras.org.

Brave New World? Genetic Engineering and Human Dignity

August 2 through 5

Pasadena, California

The Brave New World Conference seeks to bring together scholars from a wide range of disciplines and denominations for an international conference that takes both scholarship and faith seriously. The meetings will look at human’s role as stewards of God’s creation in the face of genetic advances and how science and technology can benefit rather than enslave humanity. Co-sponsored by the Journal of interdisciplinary Studies, symposium participants must pre-register and there is a registration fee. The conference website is www.JIS3.org/icsavii.htm.

October 12 and 13

Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This conference will hear from grant beneficiaries of the Templeton Foundation program, New Frontiers in Astronomy and Cosmology. The program supports the work of researchers and scholars examining advances into the “Big Questions” as an ongoing Templeton initiative. The event will also celebrate the high school and college student winners of the New Cosmic Frontiers International Essay Competition. More information can be found here: http://www.templeton.org/templeton_report/20120315/.

The Science and Religion Dialogue: Past and Future

October 25 -28

University of Heidelberg in Germany

This academic conference is hosted by Michael Welker, professor of systematic theology at the University of Heidelberg. The event will bring together dozens of scholars working in the field of science and religion. Confirmed speakers include: Martin Nowak, John Polkinghorne, Owen Gingerich and Simon Conway Morris. They will examine key issues in the dialogue between science and religion, such as the relationship between evolutionary biology and eschatology, as well as considering the state of dialogue in the current post-secular moment. For more information go to: http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/index_e.html.