The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

established in 2001 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion conducted where possible in an international and multi-faith context. The Society took shape after a four-day conference in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Spain.

Membership

Membership is available to all interested persons. However, Fellowship is only attained through nomination by existing Fellows only. There were 97 founding members, including five

Fellows of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

Varieties of faith tradition

Although many of the founders of the ISSR are Christians, the society actively welcomes members from other faith traditions. The book ''Why the Science and Religion Dialogue Matters'' produced by the society has major contributions from: *

John Polkinghorne John Charlton Polkinghorne (16 October 1930 – 9 March 2021) was an English theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest. A prominent and leading voice explaining the relationship between science and religion, he was professor of ma ...

, George Ellis,

Holmes Rolston III Holmes Rolston III (born November 19, 1932) is a philosopher who is University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Colorado State University. He is best known for his contributions to environmental ethics and the relationship between scie ...

and Fraser Watts (who are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

), on why the science and religion dialogue matters * Carl Feit on

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

* Munawar Anees on

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

* B.V. Subbarayappa on

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

Trinh Xuan Thuan Trịnh Xuân Thuận (born August 20, 1948) is a Vietnamese-American astrophysicist. Biography Trịnh Xuân Thuận was born in Hanoi, Vietnam. He completed his B.S. at the California Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. at Princeton Univer ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Heup Young Kim Heup Young Kim (Kim, Hŭb-yŏng; 김흡영 金洽榮, b. 1949, South Korea) is a Korean Christian theologian and a scholar of East Asian religions (Confucianism and Taoism), specialized in Asian constructive theology, interfaith dialogue, and re ...

Asian Christianity Christianity in Asia has its roots in the very inception of Christianity, which originated from the life and teachings of Jesus in 1st-century Roman Judea. Christianity then spread through the missionary work of his apostles, first in the Leva ...

Presidents

The Presidents of the ISSR have been: *

(Founding President) * George Ellis * Sir

Brian Heap Sir Robert Brian Heap (born 27 February 1935) is a British biological scientist. He was educated at New Mills Grammar School in the Peak District, Derbyshire, and the University of Nottingham (where he earned his BSc and PhD). He also has an MA ...

John Hedley Brooke John Hedley Brooke (born 1944) is a British historian of science specialising in the relationship between science and religion. Biography Born on 20 May 1944, Brooke is the son of Hedley Joseph Brooke, and Margaret Brooke, née Brown. He was edu ...

* Michael J. Reiss (Current President)

Secretariat

The society’s central office is based at St. Edmund's College at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. The Executive Secretary is Professor Fraser Watts.

Opposition to intelligent design

In 2008 the ISSR released a statement declaring "that

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

is neither sound science nor good theology."Leading science and theology scholars reject 'intelligent design'
Ekklesia, 7 Feb 2008

Notes and references

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Society For Science And Religion Religion and science International learned societies