A BRIEF HISTORY OF IRAS
IRAS evolved from the ideas of two pioneer groups. The first was a group of scientists from the Committee on Science and Values of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The second group was an interfaith, religious coalition which hoped to revitalize religion for today's needs. Members of both groups saw the, at times, battlefield of conflicting ideologies of religion and science as a place of opportunity for a constructive relationship to emerge.
In 1954 the scientists accepted an invitation to present their views to the religious group at a seven-day conference on Religion in an Age of Science on Star Island. The October 1 issue of Science reported on the conference:
Ten scientists explained how they thought scientific and religious knowledge could be integrated... While there were a number of both scientists and clergy who held that religious truth was hardly susceptible of being approached by scientific beliefs, there was a strong recognition that today we can increase the scope and validity of our understanding of our destiny and our relationship to that "in which we live and move and have our being," not only by reading ancient texts, but also by building up the science of theology in harmony with other science.
On November 9, 1954, members of the two groups established the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science to work toward these goals.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science.
A growing series of articles expanding the continuing dialogue on Religion in an Age of Science.
I. Religion in an Age of Science - V.V. Raman
II. The Emotional Sense: Reclaiming the Voice of Spirit - Katherine Peil
III. H. Sapiens brain 2.0 User's guide. Third millennium AD issue - Jeff Dahms
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II. The Sacred
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IV. Visions for IRAS
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VIII. On Religion and Politics
AFFILIATIONS
The Zygon Center for Religion and Science
American
Association for
the Advancement
of Science
The European Society for the Study of Science
and Theology
The Center for
Theology and the
Natural Sciences
American Academy
of Religion
Zygon: Journal of
Religion and Science
Working for a dynamic and positive relationship between religion and science since 1954
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Copyright 2011 The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science
Announcing the 59th Annual IRAS Summer Conference at Silver Bay, New York,
SCIENTIFIC, SPIRITUAL AND MORAL CHALLENGES IN SOLVING THE WORLD FOOD CRISIS
Food occupies a central place in human life, and feasting, fasting, and sharing are integral to our history, cultural identity, and religious traditions. However we are currently facing serious problems to do with many aspects of food production, consumption and security. In this year’s IRAS conference we will be examining the role of food in human life and considering aspects of the challenges we currently face in feeding the world in a healthy, safe, sustainable and just way. We will also be exploring what religious and scientific insights can contribute to this task, and what we ourselves can do at individual and local community level. As well as lectures from experts in the field and discussions, the conference will also involve experiential and practical action elements! Submissions for poster presentations related to the conference themes are invited from emerging scholars and professionals, and some partial fellowships, awarded on a competitive basis, will be available to support these. For further details on all aspects of the the conference and an application form, visit the main conference page here.
Attendees at Silver Lake, NY - 2012 IRAS Conference
Click on photo for hi-res enlargement
YOU ARE INVITED
to attend the 2013 IRAS Conference on SOLVING THE WORLD FOOD CRISIS
Venue: Silver Bay Conference Center
on Lake George, NY, From Saturday,
July 27 to Saturday, August 3
