Faraday Institute Summer Course No 10: Science or Religion: Do We Have to Choose?

Aim of Course

The annual Faraday Summer Course is the highlight of our year and provides the opportunity to grapple with a wide range of issues in the science and religion debate. Lectures will be delivered by a team of international speakers including Prof Alister McGrath, Prof Simon Conway Morris, Dr Barbara Drossel, Dr Erin Joakim, Prof Peter Clarke, Revd Dr Ernest Lucas, Dr Jamie Aten, Dr Michael Burdett. In addition there will be plenty of opportunity for questions and group discussion as well as informal interaction with speakers. The following topics will be covered in the course:  historical and philosophical perspectives on science and religion; the relationship between religious belief and different scientific disciplines, including physics, evolutionary biology and neuroscience; and some of the ethical issues raised by science. Delegates will also have the opportunity to visit some sites associated with Cambridge’s scientific heritage.

Speakers (listed in alphabetical order) and topics

See multimedia items for this course.

• Dr Jamie Aten : The Psycology of religion/spirituality and disasters
• Dr Michael Burdett : Human Enhancement: Ethical and Theological Issues
• Simon Conway Morris FRS : Convergence and complexity in evolution
• Dr Daniel De Haan : Freeing the Will from Neuro-Scientism
• Dr Barbara Drossel : The laws of physics and God’s action
• Peter Harrison : Religious Origins of Modern Science
• Dr Erin Joakim : Faith under pressure: Religious responses to disasters
• Revd Dr Ernest Lucas : Science and the Bible: Genesis 1 & Genesis 2,3
• Alister McGrath : Theological and philosophical responses to new aetheism
• Alister McGrath : Science or religion: Do we have to choose?
• Dr Matt Pritchard : Science Magic
• Dr Nicholas Ray : The science of global environmental changes
• Dr Nicholas Ray : Genetics and human evolution
• Dr Emily Reed Burdett : The Science of Children’s Belief in God and the supernatural
• Dr Christopher Southgate : Theological Issues arising from Evolution
• Revd Prof David Wilkinson : Is the universe designed?
• Revd Prof David Wilkinson : Extra-terrestrial Intelligence: Scientific and theological issues
• John Wyatt : Ethical issues at the beginning and end of life

Venue

The course will be held at Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Cambridge, CB3 0BU. Click here to obtain further details about the College.

Lucy Cavendish College is set in its own private grounds just off the Lady Margaret Road, within walking distance of Cambridge City Centre, the celebrated “Backs” and the other University Colleges.  It is located a few hundred metres from the Woolf Building, the home of the Faraday Institute.

Lucy Cavendish College is just off the Madingly Road, a main ring road for Cambridge. It is within easy access of the M11 and A14 and has on-site parking.  The College is a short taxi-ride from the train and bus stations. Airport coach or train from Stansted Airport (the most convenient airport for Cambridge) takes 30-40 minutes.

Location map for Lucy Cavendish College.

Course Schedule