Science & Religion Workshop: ECR/PhD Bursaries, 26th-28th May 2015, York University, Toronto
Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum Workshop
York University Toronto, 26th-28th May 2015
Early Career Researcher Bursaries:
We
have a number of bursaries available for Canada based PhD students and Early
Career Researchers to attend and participate in the Science and
Religion: Exploring the Spectrum workshop. These bursaries will
cover the cost of your registration, accommodation, all workshop meals and a
significant contribution to some or all of your travel costs up to a value of
$650 CAD.
‘Early-Career
Researcher’ is defined as up to five years post-PhD (or equivalent taking into
account career breaks for childcare etc.)
We
welcome applications from researchers who are just starting to develop an
interest in this field as well as those who existing research directly relates
to the project content.
To
apply for a Travel Bursary for the workshop at York University, Toronto please
send a short 2 -3 page copy of your CV together with a statement of up to 300
words on why you are interested in attending the workshop and how your research
intersects with its themes (see below for details) to:
The
closing date for applications is: 16th April 2015
Science and Religion:
Exploring the Spectrum Workshop
York University Toronto
26th-28th May 2015
The
“Science vs. Religion debate” is a reoccurring theme in both media and
scholarly discourse. Yet surprisingly there is a gap in current social science
and humanities research into the nature of public domain discussions about the
relationship between science and religion as a phenomenon in its own right.
This multidisciplinary networking workshop will explore the social and cultural
factors that have historically driven, and are currently driving, the narrative
in the public domain that there is a necessary clash between religious belief
and evolutionary science. We will bring together researchers from a range of
intersecting disciplines and fields to discuss work relating to the following
questions:
- How widespread is the belief that it is irreconcilable to accept or practice evolutionary science and hold religious beliefs, and how has this belief developed?
- What cultural, social and psychological processes might lead one to hold, or conversely disagree with, the view that there is an inevitable clash between evolution and faith, science and religion, or rationalism and belief?
- Is the idea that there is a necessary clash between acceptance of evolutionary science and holding personal belief a majority or minority worldview, and does public domain discussion of this subject represent people’s real lived experience of the relationship between personal faith and acceptance of evolution?
- How do these processes relate to wider questions about the role of religion and/or science in society?
- What impact have scholarly debates concerning the secularization thesis and the so called ‘culture wars’ had on the representation of the relationship between science and religion?
- How do different faith groups and non-believers engage with evolutionary science and STEM in general?
This
workshop is part of a larger scale 3 year research project that will employ
four intersecting approaches: qualitative social science field research; oral
history, historical and media discourse analysis; social psychology
experimental research; and a large scale quantitative survey of public
perceptions, attitudes and identity formation, with initial studies taking
place the UK and Canada.
One
aim of the project is to develop a field of research into the social and
cultural context of contemporary perceptions of a clash between science and
religion. We will therefore be looking to build a longer term network and field
of research that brings together researchers from the social sciences and
humanities, in US, UK and Canada, as well as media and science communication
professionals, to revisit the assumptions that have previously been made about
the intersection between science and faith in the public space.
This
project workshop is funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, as part of
the Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum project run by
Newman University UK and York University Canada.
--
Dr Alexander Hall