The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

s which were established in 1887 by the

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of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland:

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in other words, the knowledge of God." A Gifford lectures appointment is one of the most prestigious honours in Scottish academia. University calendars record that at the four Scottish universities, the Gifford Lectures are to be "public and popular, open not only to students of the university, but the whole community (for a tuition fee) without

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

. Besides a general audience, the Lecturer may form a special class of students for the study of the subject, which will be conducted in the usual way, and tested by examination and thesis, written and oral". The lectures are normally presented as a series over an academic year and given with the intent that the edited content be published in book form. A number of these works have become classics in the fields of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and the relationship between religion and science. In 1889, those attending the Gifford Lectures at the University of St Andrews were described as "mixed" and included women as well as male undergraduates. The first woman appointed was Hannah Arendt who presented in Aberdeen between 1972 and 1974. A comparable lecture series is the John Locke Lectures, which are delivered annually at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

List of lectures

Aberdeen

Edinburgh

Glasgow

St Andrews

Support from Templeton Religion Trust

Established at the behest of John Templeton, the Gifford Lecture
website
was designed to increase the strategic impact of the Gifford program. Developed and managed by Templeton Press through May 2021, the website is now managed through a grant from Templeton Religion Trust.

References

Bibliography

*Stanley Jaki, ''Lord Gifford and His Lectures: A Centenary Retrospect'' (1987). Scottish Academic Press, . *Larry Witham, ''The Measure of God: Our Century-Long Struggle to Reconcile Science & Religion'' (2005), HarperSanFrancisco hardcover: ; reprinted as ''The Measure of God: History's Greatest Minds Wrestle with Reconciling Science and Religion'' (2006), paperback: .

External links

Gifford Lectures Online
featured Lectures from the official website
Gifford Lectures on YouTube
presents playlists of Gifford Lectures in the modern day {{University of St Andrews 1888 establishments in Scotland British lecture series Lectures on religion and science Recurring events established in 1888 John Templeton Foundation Scottish education-related lists University and college lecture series