The
Past and Future of the Science-Religion Dialogue:
Celebrating the Work of Ian G.
Barbour
October 3-5, 2003
Berkeley, CA
View
photos from the conference
 "Wissenschaft und Glaube"von Ian G. Barbour translated
into German
Ian Barbour's pioneering writing in the 1960s and 1970s helped to create
the field of science and religion, and his ongoing work over the past forty
years has explored almost every aspect of it. On his eightieth birthday we
will honor his contribution and look to the future of the dialogue.
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Barbour earned a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Chicago, where he
was a teaching assistant to Enrico Fermi, designer of the world's first atomic
reactor. After teaching physics in Michigan Barbour embarked on a Ford
Fellowship to study theology and ethics at Yale Divinity School. Moving to
Carleton College in 1955, he created what is now the department of religion
while teaching half time in the physics department. He began a lifetime of
research and writing on science and religion, starting with the fundamental
methodological issue: how do we relate fields as divergent as the natural
sciences and religious thought? He went on to explore the theological
implications of physics, cosmology, evolution, anthropology and the
neurosciences, as well as ethical issues concerning technology, human need and
the environment. In 1999, Ian Barbour was awarded the Templeton Prize for
Progress in Religion in recognition of his wide-reaching efforts to further
the dialogue between science and religion.
The conference sessions deal with methodology; God and nature; theology and
physics; theology and biology; ethics, technology and the environment; and
perspectives from process theology, Roman Catholic theology and Buddhist
thought. Presenters will explore a variety of theological visions of the field's wider dimensions and its frontier challenges. Each speaker will assess what
has been accomplished in the past and help us envision what lies ahead as we
look toward the coming decades in the light of the legacy of Ian G. Barbour.
"The mission of CTNS is to promote the creative mutual interaction between
theology and the natural sciences. As a founding member of
the Board of Directors, Ian Barbour has helped shape and guide
this mission through our programs of research, teaching and
public service over the 20 year history of the Center. It
is a pleasure for all of us at CTNS, and especially for me
personally, to honor both the life and scholarship of Ian
Barbour, and to thank him for his vision for and support of
CTNS" - Robert John Russell
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