This new journal premiered in March 2014. It describes its aims and purpose as follows:
Science, Religion, and Culture is an open access interdisciplinary journal focused on
bringing together research and theoretical analysis from the physical,
biological, and social sciences with ideas from philosophy, theology, and
religious studies. It aims at exploring the unique relationship between
science, religion, and culture, and it welcomes submissions from all
perspectives and religious traditions—including Christianity, Judaism, Islam,
Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, secularism, humanism, and naturalism. Given that
science and religion are two great manifestations of human culture, special
focus is given to the various ways modern science—including the disciplines of
physics, cosmology, biology, psychology, neuroscience, mathematics, sociology,
and anthropology—support, oppose, inform, or are informed by religious,
theological, and cultural perspectives. Additional focus is given to
perspectives on science, religion, and culture from different geographical
regions, cultures, religions, and historical epochs.
The articles in the first issue include:
Victor Stenger
Massimo Pigliucci
Robert E. Pollack
John Shook
Timothy Helton
The journal’s appearance prompted an online discussion
between me and some of my local fellow freethinker friends (secular, freethinking,
humanist, atheist/agnostics). With reference
to the first two articles by Victor Stenger and Massimo Pigliucci, one friend
said that s/he had a low tolerance for faith-based ideas such as those of the
Abrahamic religions and therefore sided with Stenger. His/her implied assertion was that these
religions, and other faith-based belief systems, have not made the world a
better place. Since it is impossible,
his/her argument went, to know what the world would have become without the influences of religions, the
assertion that the world is a better because of them is a non sequitur. The following
is my response, which I have expanded a bit since the discussion:
