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ST: Science and Religion

This course introduces the students to the study of the correlation between science and religion as an interdisciplinary study from a historical perspective. Session topics fall into three distinct units. The first correlates the physical sciences with Western religious theology; the second explores the consequences of the life sciences on religious psychology; and the third examines the impact of the interconnection between sciences and religions in society. Each unit will be studied through specific readings, film, lectures, and discussion. No specific knowledge of any discipline discussed is pre-requisite for the course. The only requirements are genuine interest in inter-disciplinary studies and considerable intellectual curiosity.

Related goals for Religious Studies undergraduate majors: K1, K2, K3, S1, S2, S3

Course Requirements

Graduate Students(Religious Studies)

Graduates students will be required to write a research paper (60% of grade) and to make an oral presentation (30% of grade) on a topic of one class session. Graduate students will also be evaluated (10% of grade) on in-class participation.

Undergraduates

Undergraduates will be required to take three take-home essays during the semester (60% of grade) and three in-class quizzes (30% of grade) for a course grade. Undergraduate students will also be evaluated (10% of grade) on the basis of in-class participation.

Required Books

Samuelson, Norbert M. Judaism and the Doctrine of Creation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. (for Unit I)

Behe, Michael J. Darwin's Black Box. The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Touchstone, 1996. (for Unit II)

Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker. London: Penguin Books, 1986. (for Unit II)

Barbour, Ian G. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. New York: Harper Collins, 1997. (for Unit III)

Recommended Books

Brooke, John Hedley. Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. (for Unit I)*

Dennett, Daniel C. Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. London: Penguin Books, 1995.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel. The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997 (for Unit III)*

Fara, Patricia. Newton: The Making of Genius. London: Macmillan, 2002.

Gleick, James. Isaac Newton. New York: Pantheon Books, 2003.

Goldish, Matt. Judaism in the Theology of Sir Isaac Newton. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998.

Hefner, Philip. Human Factor, The: Evolution, Culture, and Religion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. Science & Religion

Hollinger, David. A. Science, Jews, and Secular Culture: Studies in Mid-Twentieth-Century American Intellectual History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996,

Pinker, Steven. How the Mind Works. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997.

Rolston III, Holmes. Genes, Genesis, and God: Beyond Selfishness to Shares Values. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. (for Unit II)*

Samuelson, Norbert M. Revelation and the God of Israel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Westfall, Richard S. Never at Rest: A Biography of Isaac Newton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.

* Required reading for Honors Students and Graduate Students

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