It is often assumed that the relationship between faith and science is antagonistic or in opposition given their differing objects of study and methodologies.
Hosted by the American Scientific Affiliation on Saturday, 27 January at 1800 UTC, Prof. Elaine Howard Ecklund, Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, and director of the Boniuk Institute at Rice University, questions this assumption based on research she has conducted over the past fifteen years. She highlights the ways these two spheres point to universal human values, showing why they don’t have to choose between science and Christianity.
Over the past several years Prof. Ecklund’s research has explored how scientists in different nations understand religion, ethics, and gender; religion at work; and the overlap between racial and religious discrimination in workplaces. She is also co-directing a $2.9 million grant in order to create a new field of sociological research examining science and religion. She is the author (with students and colleagues) of over 100 journal articles and seven books, including Why Science and Faith Need Each Other: Eight Shared Values That Move Us beyond Fear. In 2018 she gave the Gifford Lecture at the University of Edinburgh.
