Ralph Wendell Burhoe (May 21

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

or June 21, 1911 – May 8, 1997) was an important twentieth-century pioneer interpreter of the importance of religion for a scientific and technological world. He was awarded the

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...

in 1980.

Biography

Ralph Wendell Burhoe was born on 21 June 1911, in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area o ...

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

from 1928 to 1932 as a student of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

and

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

, though never completing his degree. He then entered Andover Newton Theological School.''Theology in a Global Context: The Last Two Hundred Years''
Hans Schwarz, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005, , , 597 pages, p.561-562 Burhoe spent eighteen months in theological study at Andover. Instead of becoming a minister as he had planned, he returned to Harvard University as an employee of the

Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts is the foremost structure associated with the history of weather observations in the United States. Located atop Great Blue Hill about 10 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts, it is ...

, finding some success as a scientist. He went on to become the first full-time executive director of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

starting in 1947. His position at the AAAS brought him into close contact with such eminent scientists as the astronomer

Harlow Shapley Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American scientist, head of the Harvard College Observatory (1921–1952), and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal. Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estim ...

, the geologist Kirtley Mather, and the biologist George Wald. While there, he was one of the founders of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. In 1965, Burhoe joined the faculty at the

Meadville Lombard Theological School The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois. History Meadville Lombard is a result of a merger in the 1930s between two institutions, a Unitarian seminary and a Universalist seminary. M ...

, the

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

seminary then in

Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is the 41st of the 77 community areas of Chicago. It is located on the South Side, near the shore of Lake Michigan south of the Loop. Hyde Park's official boundaries are 51st Street/Hyde Park Boulevard on the north, the Midway Pl ...

. There he facilitated the founding of '' Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science'' and the Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS). After retiring from Meadville in 1974 he was affiliated with the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

, where in 1988 he founded the Chicago Center for Religion and Science.Remembering Ralph Burhoe
His ashes are interred in the crypt at

First Unitarian Church of Chicago The First Unitarian Church of Chicago is a Unitarian Universalist ("UU") church in Chicago, Illinois. Unitarians do not have a common creed and include people with a wide variety of personal beliefs, and include atheists, agnostics, deists, mono ...

where he was a member.

Contributions

Ralph Wendell Burhoe pursued a passionate investigation into the differences and similarities of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and science, becoming one of the world's most informed voices in communicating this evolving research. He played a major role in the interdisciplinary pursuit of issues at the boundary of science and religion by offering a common ground for dialogue. According to theologian Hans Schwarz, the journal Zygon has "achieved a circulation far beyond the confines of theological journals."

Awards and honors

* In 1980 he was the first American to win the

for Progress in Religion. * Honorary doctorates from Meadville Lombard Theological School (1977) and Rollins College (1979). * The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, of which he was a founder, bestowed on him its first Distinguished Career Achievement Award in 1984. * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the World Academy of Arts and Letters.

Works

*
Science and Human Values in the 21st Century
', Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971. * Review: Spencer Lavan, ''

Journal of the American Academy of Religion The ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', formerly the ''Journal of Bible and Religion'', is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). The ''JAAR'' was e ...

'', Volume 40, Issue 3, (Sep., 1972), page 410 * Review:

David O. Moberg David Oscar Moberg (born February 13, 1922) is an American Christian scholar, who is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Marquette University. His areas of specialization included methodology in qualitative research, sociology of religion, sociology ...

,
Review of Religious Research
', Vol. 14, No. 2, (Winter, 1973), pages 134-134 * ''Toward a Scientific Theology'', Christian Journals Ltd., 1981,

References

* David Breed, ''Yoking Science and Religion: The Life and Thought of Ralph Wendell Burhoe'', Chicago: Zygon Books, 1992,

External links