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PRESCOTT COLLEGE RECEIVES $10,000
GRANT TO FUND RELIGION AND SCIENCE COURSE
Prescott, Ariz. - The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS),
Science and Religion Course Program, recently announced that they have awarded
Prescott College a $10,000 grant to fund the development of a new course
focusing on the ongoing dialogue between science and religion. The grant
is one of 100 awards given to colleges and universities around the world
in CTNS' annual Science and Religion Course Award Competition.
Prescott College faculty members Dr. Grace G. Burford of the Integrative
Studies Program and Dr. Lon Abbott of the Environmental Science Program received
the award for their course titled "Religion and Science." The course
will be offered in the spring of 2002, and the two would like to see it offered
every other year. The grant money received will be used to support the additional
expense of having two full-time faculty members teach one course, instead
of two separate courses that would normally be taught in its place.
According to Dr. Abbott, the Prescott College course will focus on the questions
of origin (of the universe, earth and life) and examine these questions from
both scientific and religious perspectives. The course will cover various
religious traditions, focusing on Christianity and Buddhism as examples of
Western and Eastern traditions, respectively.
"We will examine scientific ideas about a given subject, such as the
Big Bang cosmology, and cover religious views of the subject from various
traditions, for example traditional Christian and Buddhist cosmologies. Then
we'll spend a great deal of time examining how the religious and scientific
ideas mesh or don't mesh with each other," he said. "A major theme
is an exploration of how religion and science can constructively cooperate,
while also looking at examples of confrontation or isolation between these
overarching human knowledge bases."
The course represents the kind of interdisciplinary education considered
valuable at Prescott College, explained Dr. Burford.
"Since the course is taught by one scientist and one religionist, it
models and engages the students in informed cross-disciplinary exploration
of topics and issues that look different depending on the discipline from
which you examine them," she said. "The course brings together
students with interests and background in science with those who study religion
or other humanities. Together we build understanding across these areas of
interest, which are so often kept separate in mainstream education, and challenge
our students to think outside their primary areas of study."
Established in 1994, the CTNS Science and Religion Course Program (SRCP)
has granted 669 awards for new courses in science and religion. It is estimated
that these awards have resulted in more than 1,500 new courses offerings
on campuses around the world and approximately 40,000 students have included
science and religion dialogue in their academic pursuits.
The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) is a non-profit
international member organization, affiliated with the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley, CA. The Center promotes the creative mutual interaction
between theology and the natural sciences through research, teaching,
and public service. For additional information about the CTNS Science
and Religion
Course Program, please visit http://www.ctns.org.
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