Center for the Study of Science and Religion
Encyclopedia
The Center for the Study of Science and Religion (CSSR) is a center inside The Earth Institute
at Columbia University
. It "was founded in the summer of 1999 as a forum for the examination of issues that lie at the boundary of these two complementary ways of comprehending the world and our place in it. By examining the intersections that cross over the boundaries between one or another science and one or another religion, the CSSR hopes to stimulate dialogue and encourage understanding." The founder and director of CSSR is Robert Pollack
, Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
and also Adjunct Professor of Religion at Columbia University.
Questions currently being addressed by CSSR include:
CSSR offers courses, varying in length and content, for undergraduates, graduate students, clergy, and professional students.
CSSR sponsors one major symposium about every two years, and four or more guest lectures each semester. CSSR symposia have included:
CSSR and Columbia University Press
oversee publication of the Columbia Series in Science and Religion.
The Earth Institute
The Earth Institute was established at Columbia University in 1995. The research institute's stated mission is to address complex issues facing the planet and its inhabitants, with particular focus on sustainable development and the needs of the world's poor...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. It "was founded in the summer of 1999 as a forum for the examination of issues that lie at the boundary of these two complementary ways of comprehending the world and our place in it. By examining the intersections that cross over the boundaries between one or another science and one or another religion, the CSSR hopes to stimulate dialogue and encourage understanding." The founder and director of CSSR is Robert Pollack
Robert Pollack (biologist)
Dr. Robert Pollack is an American biologist who studies the intersections between science and religion. He currently works at Columbia University, where he serves as the director of the university's Center for the Study of Science and Religion and lectures for its Center for Psychoanalytic Training...
, Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
and also Adjunct Professor of Religion at Columbia University.
Questions currently being addressed by CSSR include:
- Development and equitable sharing of waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
resources between nations in the Jordan River Valley, with Upmanu Lall - Long term women's health effects of human egg harvesting, with Wendy Chavkin
- AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
slaverySlaverySlavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and memoryMemoryIn psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
, with Patricia J. WilliamsPatricia J. WilliamsPatricia J. Williams is an American legal scholar and a proponent of critical race theory, a school of legal thought that emphasizes race as a fundamental determinant of the American legal system....
CSSR offers courses, varying in length and content, for undergraduates, graduate students, clergy, and professional students.
CSSR sponsors one major symposium about every two years, and four or more guest lectures each semester. CSSR symposia have included:
- Mind and Reality, February 25 & 26, 2005
- Love and its Obstacles, November 7, 2004
- Destructive Emotions: Neuroscience, Psychology and Buddhism, January 28, 2003
- A Colloquium on the Centennial of William James's The Varieties of Religious Experience, March 24 & 25, 2002
CSSR and Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
oversee publication of the Columbia Series in Science and Religion.