Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction

Description

This book explains the philosophical and historical concepts that shape current debates about science and religion. It also considers some of the themes and issues that have become more prominent in the past decade, such as science denial, climate change and environmentalism, and religion and public health - including responses to Covid-19.

• Reveals how the debate between theological and scientific argument has long been fuelled by complex cultural and political contexts
• Explains the philosophical concepts that shape current debates and how they developed through history
• Examines landmark episodes in science and religion history, including the Galileo affair, the Scopes “Monkey” trial, and the Covid-19 pandemic
• Discusses recent developments in global affairs and public policy and how they are affected by science and religion
• Includes perspectives from non-Christian religions, including the influence of colonialism and postcolonialism on the global spread of science-religion discourse
• Part of the Very Short introductions series - over ten million copies sold worldwide

New to this edition

• New edition includes detailed discussion of contemporary themes and issues, such as science denial, climate change and environmentalism, and religion and public health
• Provides a broader worldwide perspective, giving greater attention to science-religion issues outside of Europe and North America
• Includes new material on the influences of missionary and colonialist history on science and religion discourses today

About the Author(s)

Thomas Dixon, Professor of History, Queen Mary University of London, and Adam Shapiro, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow

Thomas Dixon is Professor of History at Queen Mary University of London. He was the author of the first edition of this Very Short Introduction, which won the Dingle Prize in 2009, awarded biennially by the British Society for the History of Science to the best book for a wide readership. He is also the author of several other titles, including How to Get a First: The Essential Guide to Academic Success (2004), and Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears (2015).

Adam R. Shapiro is a historian of science and religion. He taught at universities in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for over a decade before accepting a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship and shifting to work in public policy and science communication. He is the author of Trying Biology: The Scopes Trial, Textbooks, and the Antievolution Movement in American Schools (2013) as well as several articles on science and religion from the late eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries.

Table of Contents

1:What are science-religion debates really about?
2:Galileo and the philosophy of science
3:God and nature
4:Darwin and evolution
5:Mind and morality
6:The worlds of science and religion
References and further reading
Index

Reviews

"a wonderful book" - Morteza Hajizadeh, New Books Network

"Review from previous edition A rich introductory text...on the study of relations of science and religion." - R. P. Whaite, Metascience

"A marvellous book that should be required reading for dogmatic fundamentalists of every persuasion." - Patricia Fara, British Journal for the History of Science

"Dixon shows great skill in composing a book which combines coherence and clarity with a strong forward momentum... The interested reader need not hesitate." - Michael Fuller, The Expository Times

"Bracing initiation" - Observer.

"The relationship between science and religion, past and present, is much more varied and more interesting than the popular caricature of conflict. Thomas Dixon gives us the richer picture, and he does it with clarity and verve. This is an ideal introduction to a fascinating subject." - Peter Lipton. University of Cambridge

"Thomas Dixon has made a delightful contribution to this OUP series of Very Short Introductions." - Church Times