Institute on Religion in an Age of Science Conference/Call for Papers and Panels
Naturalism—as Religion, within Religions, or without Religion?
IRAS, the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science, will have its 66th conference June 27 – July 4, 2020, at Star Island, NH
What are the consequences of science-inspired naturalism for religion? In this conference, we will explore and evaluate religious and non-religious options available to those who take science seriously. Briefly, these could be characterized as replacement, reform, and rejection. Speakers will be Owen Flanagan (philosopher), Marcelo Gleiser (cosmologist); Ursula Goodenough (biologist); Sarah Lane Ritchie (theologian); Carol Wayne White (philosopher of religion); Janet Newton (chapel speaker), Willem B. Drees (past-editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science). Program co-chairs Barbara Whittaker-Johns and Willem B. Drees. The conference will be on Star Island, a small island in the Atlantic, off the coast of Portsmouth, NH – a setting of great natural beauty.
We invite proposals for short papers on the theme of the conference and on other aspects of the interactions of science and religion. Topics can be approached from various perspectives, such as science, philosophy, religious studies or theology, history, psychology or sociology. They may consider traditions such as Christianity, Islam or Buddhism; contemporary developments such as religious naturalism, spirituality, or the rise of nones; naturalism in relation to philosophical topics such as moral motivation and values, consciousness, mathematics, or scientific methodology; the history of any such developments; their usefulness in addressing individual needs or global and planetary concerns; and so on.
We look forward as well to proposals for panels with up to four participants, addressing a particular issue from multiple angles.
Proposals for short papers or panels are invited; deadline November 30, 2019; earlier submissions are evaluated on a rolling basis. See for more information and the submission form https://www.iras.org/2020-conference.html.
For more information: Willem B. Drees, w.b.drees@tilburguniversity.edu