Being Religious, Being Scientific: The Dynamics Of Science And Religion In The Laboratory

Session Submission Type: Open Panel

Abstract

While popular imagination of the relation between science and religion continues to be dominated by either “conflict thesis” or “complementarity thesis”, emerging scholarship in the social studies of science has brought to light the many ways in which science and religion interact. Anthropological studies have challenged the assumption that scientists should necessarily be atheists. Today, world religions and science co-exist in ways that have not been explored widely in the literature e.g. Jewish rabbis and scientists together determine what foods are kosher (ritually “pure”), and laboratories in India routinely launch research projects with a puja (ritual offering) to Hindu deities.

In this panel, we discuss how science shapes, and is shaped by, religious beliefs, in an age of transnational ecological challenges, political upheaval and socio-economic turmoil. This panel would explore questions like: How do scientists negotiate their religious beliefs with their scientific careers (and vice versa)? How do the products of scientific research transform the religious beliefs of consumers? What are the consequences of religious ethics (and atheistic ideas) for developing research projects? What role do national governments play in designing science policy that (does not) supports dominant religious doctrines? What influences do religious leaders and organizations have on science? What are the social implications of these factors for scientific practice and religious beliefs?

Sub Unit

• Papers for Open Panels / Being religious, being scientific: the dynamics of science and religion in the laboratory

Discussant

• Doru Costache, Sydney College of Divinity

Individual Presentations

• Negotiating the boundary between science and religion in modern rational institutions - Pia Vuolanto, University of Tampere Research Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies; Ali Qadir, University of Tampere, Finland; Tatiana Tiaynen-Qadir, University of Tampere, Finland

• For The Greater Glory Of God – Jesuits And The Debate On Genetically Modified Food Crops - Joseph Satish, University of Hyderabad, India

• Science, State, and Spirituality: Scientific Creationism in South Korea - Hyung Wook Park, Nanyang Technological University

• The Invention of Halal Stunning: A Techno-Moral History of Redefining Animal Welfare and Islamic Practices in the Laboratory - En-Chieh Chao, National Sun Yat-sen University

Session Organizer

• Joseph Satish, University of Hyderabad, India