Science and Religion Around the World

by Brooke, John Hedley; Numbers, Ronald L.

• ISBN13: 9780195328196
• ISBN10: 0195328191
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The past quarter-century has seen an explosion of interest in the history of science and religion. But all too often the scholars writing it have focused their attention almost exclusively on the Christian experience, with only passing reference to other traditions of both science and faith. At a time when religious ignorance and misunderstanding have lethal consequences, such provincialism must be avoided and, in this pioneering effort to explore the historical relations of what we now call "science" and "religion," the authors go beyond the Abrahamic traditions to examine the way nature has been understood and manipulated in regions as diverse as ancient China, India, and sub-Saharan Africa. Science and Religion around the World also provides authoritative discussions of science in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- as well as an exploration of the relationship between science and the loss of religious beliefs. The narratives included in this book demonstrate the value of plural perspectives and of the importance of location for the construction and perception of science-religion relations.

Author Biography

JHB: Emeritus Fellow of Harris Manchester College Oxford; Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Durham; President of the International Society for Science and Religion
RLN: Hilldale and William Coleman Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Contributors	p. xi
Introduction: Contextualizing Science and Religion	p. 1
Early Judaism	p. 1
Modern Judaism	p. 44
Early Christianity	p. 67
Modern Christianity	p. 92
Early Islam	p. 120
Modern Islam	p. 148
Early Chinese Religions	p. 175
Indic Religions	p. 195
Buddhism	p. 210
African Religions	p. 229
Unbelief	p. 252
Which Science? Whose Religion?	p. 278
A Guide to Further Reading	p. 297
Index	p. 309
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