Science and Religion in the Twenty First Century: The Boyle Lectures, 2004-2013

This book collects together the first ten in the revived series of The Boyle Lectures in science and religion (2004-2013). Delivered by leading scientists, theologians and philosophers, the lectures engage themes at the cutting-edge of contemporary science and religion debates, from evolution and emergence to cosmology and the psychology of religious beliefs.

Despite the upsurge in public interest in science and religion provoked by the so-called “new atheist” attacks on religion, there has been surprisingly little publically accessible informed discussion of the central issues at stake in contemporary work at the interface of science and religion. This book aims to fill this gap by providing a snap shot of what is really at stake in contemporary debates in science and religion. What the collection shows, above all, is the vibrant complexity of discussions in science and religion. Old models of conflict between science and religion no longer hold; but neither do the alternative comprehensive models of independence, dialogue or integration. What emerges instead is a complex set of relations between science and religion in the twenty-first century.