Resources on Science and Religion

InterVarsity Faculty Ministry and the Emerging Scholars Network offer many resources related to the intersection of science and religion. Here is a sampling of some audio recordings, articles, and interviews.

Elaine Howard Ecklund on Science vs. Religion

Elaine Howard Ecklund, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rice University, is the author of Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think (New York: Oxford University Press, May 2010). She has received the opportunity to share her insights on this topic in the public arena on several occassions, including an article in USA Today, “Will science trump religion, answer how we should live?” covering her talk at the Faith Angle Forum. Additional publications covering her perspective on science vs. religion can be found on Dr. Ecklund’s faculty website.

Audio Recordings from InterVarsity Conferences

Science as Worship: At InterVarsity’s Following Christ 2008 conference, Francis Collins shared his perspective on “science as worship.” The audio recording is available from FC08’s plenary sessions audio page.

Audio from Following Christ Seminars Tracks: Audio from Following Christ 2008’s disciplinary tracks is available online, including talks from Jennifer Wiseman, Jim Bradley, and David Gill.

How to Be Busy, Productive, and Happy: Cal DeWitt, Professor at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies of the University of Wisconsin, delivered this talk at the 2007 Faculty Conference at Cedar Campus. He focuses on a topic of concern to all Christian academics: time management. Along the way, he shares his love for creation and passion for scholarship.

Can a Biologist Trust an Evangelical Christian? A recap and audio recordings a panel discussion hosted by the Indiana University Graduate and Faculty Ministry. Panelists featured were Jeff Hardin (Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison), Tim O’Connor (Philosophy, Indiana University), and a pastor, Rich Holdeman (Biology, Indiana University).

Articles and Interviews

Leading a Life of Balanced Excellence: Robert Kaita, Principal Research Physicist of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, offers his perspective and a Scriptural basis for aiming to serve Christ and achieve academic success simultaneously.

Students Are a Lot like People by Steve Simmons, Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota. Drawing on 32 years in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Simmons offers some ideas on how to show grace and humanity to graduate students.

Jimmy Lin, Doxologist: An interview with Jimmy Lin, at the time a MD/PhD student at Johns Hopkins, about why he calls himself a “medical and scientific doxologist” and how he balances his studies and spiritual life. Lin is currently a 2012 TED Fellow and Founder/CEO of Rare Genomics Institute, the world's first platform to enable any community to leverage cutting- edge biotechnology to advance understanding of any rare disease.

Emerging Scholars Blog Posts on Science: The Emerging Scholars Blog is updated three times a week with links, articles, and interviews related to Christianity in the academy. This link collects our many science-related posts over the past few years. Some recent posts include an interview with Ted Davis, a historian of science, and a discussion of miracles and the definition of science.

Micheal Hickerson

From 2006 till 2012 Micheal was the Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). Tom Grosh recommends that, if you haven't already done so, please be sure to check out his phenomenal "Best Christian Book of All Time" Series!

Micheal graduated summa cum laude from the University of Louisville with a BA in English, and completed a Masters of Christian Studies, concentrating in Christianity and the Arts, at Regent College. His poetry has been published in The New Pantagruel and Uprooted. Having become convinced of the importance of local community, Micheal and Elizabeth returned to Kentucky after their time in Vancouver in order to build community among her family and the local church while raising their three children.

The Emerging Scholars Network is especially important to Micheal, because he wishes something like ESN had existed when he was graduating from Louisville. With the idea of getting a PhD in literature, he contacted a number of Christian English professors to ask them where he could earn a PhD that integrated his love for Christ with his love for literature. After several discouraging responses, the last professor suggested that he do a theology degree first, to provide a foundation for later integration. While his degree at Regent turned out to be a perfect fit for Micheal, he hopes that ESN will provide a more encouraging path for students who want to serve God in the university. Micheal blogs at MikeHickerson.com.

We value the contribution of writers who are not employed by InterVarsity, some of whom may not necessarily agree with all aspects of InterVarsity's ministry, doctrine, or policies. These writings are the words of the writers and may or may not represent InterVarsity. The same is true of any comments which may be posted about any entries. Submitted comments may or may not be posted at the writer or the editor's discretion.