Science, Religion & Society: An Online Series 
Inaugural Sessions that started during summer of 2020

For 65 years, The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) has held summer Conferences on Star Island, off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Due to the pandemic, we had to postpone our 2020 Star Island conference until the summer of 2021. In order to continue to engage with IRAS themes and the IRAS community, with Star Island’s generous support, we launched a live webinar series: Science, Religion, & Society. Below are the collected session videos.

Next Session:

The Microbiome: Theological Implications
with John Pohl, MD DThM
December 11​, 2024, at
4 PM Central time
5 PM Eastern time
​
This IRAS webinar is FREE but
​registration is required.
​Please register using the link below.
If you have questions, contact
JD Stillwater: [email protected]​
About the December 11, 2024 webinar: 
The Microbiome: Theological Implications
Presentation Overview:  
A metaphysical understanding of God in the world can be assisted by advances in science. Scientific discoveries such as quantum indeterminacy, dark energy, and the genetics underlying biological evolution have changed how science will proceed as well as how we may interpret the Divine. The study of the human microbiome is an example of discovering how the microorganisms in, on, and around our bodies influence us physiologically while also affecting us in a potential prehensive, panentheistic, and panexperiential way. As science begins to understand the objective processes of the human microbiome more fully, philosophers and theologians should begin to consider models of how interactions between the microbiome and the human body subjectively improve our understanding of God.
​About the December 11​ presenter:
John Pohl, MD DThM is a professor of pediatric gastroenterology at the University Of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has published many clinical research articles and has been the chief editor for a pediatric gastroenterology textbook. He has a busy clinical practice and has a specific clinical interest in cystic fibrosis. He has recently received his DThM degree from Northwind Theological Seminary. Previously, he has written articles for BioLogos and God and Nature Magazine.  ​

​Upcoming Sessions:

TBD
TBD

Find past sessions in the Webinar Archive