Ilia
Delio is a professor at Georgetown University. She has obtained multiple
degrees, one of which is in science, and the other degree has a focus on religion. Therefore, it is of no surprise that
she was asked to teach a course that studies the relationship between the two
areas of discipline, or what society has taken upon itself to terming as,
"Science vs. Religion".
However,
to her surprise, she was fairly ignorant in relation to how fast this
relationship between the two disciplines had led to a widespread intense conversation, or for lack of a
better word, debate, between people all over the world within the last several
years. As a vast amount of literature and new articles are being published on
the topic, Ilia wondered if she could fulfill the promise she made to providing
her students with an openness to each area of study. Eventually, out of this concern she began to wonder in an
even broader question, if Catholic Universities were even capable of
"fostering this dialogue" between the two areas of study.
Ilia
argues that with recent advances in technology and communication, it has led to
a rapid spread of increased awareness within people that ultimately, has led to
a discrepancy in opinions. Furthermore stating that, "with these changes
have come new moral and religious questions and the Catholic Church needs
theologians whom are willing to address them".
Now,
because we have all taken Theological Foundations, we are aware that science is
a critical tool for the "development of one's faith" and because of
this, Ilia calls out the Catholic Church for its hesitance to accept recent
scientific developments, and consequentially, refers to it as a slow-moving
turtle. Unfortunately, this notion
of uncertainty and hesitance seems to be prevalent within many Catholic
Universities, as well. According
to her argument, the majority of Catholic Universities seem to be dragging
their feet when it comes to providing resources to educating their theologians
that have an open mindset towards what she refers to as the, "scientific
world".
She
further concludes that it is essential for Catholic Universities to step-up and become
leaders in integrating science and religion. However, despite the increasing amount of information on the
Internet and expanding dialogue amongst Christians pertaining to this relationship, few
universities have responded to its growth. In fact, according to Ilia's argument, very few universities
even offer a course to study the correlations between science and
religion.
Now,
at this point you are probably wondering if SLU offers any courses pertaining
to this matter, well you're in luck, because it does. I have listed below two courses, which SLU offers and that I
believe would be worthwhile to anyone whom is having difficultly in finding a
balance between science and religion.
The first course listed below deals specifically with this relationship,
and the second course deals more with applying how we understand and view
science today to what we consider to be traditional human values.
But,
most importantly what I want to make notice of with this blog entry, is Ilia's call for leadership
within the Catholic Church. In
class we talked about the future of Christianity and where it is headed in the
upcoming years, and leadership was one of the key elements in question. Ilia's argument goes directly to this
question of leadership, in which she claims can be solved through educating theologians, which can foster a dialogue between science and religion.
Although, her solution may not be the
answer to the "Science vs. Religion" debate, she makes an excellent
point in noting the need for addressing these questions. If the Catholic Church and its community continues to drag its feet in answering these questions, it will only continue to limit and prohibit further developing our understanding of faith, and what it means to be a Christian in the 21st century. After all, change is the only constant... so, the scientists say.
Courses offered at SLU:
PHIL 360 Science and Religion
This course surveys the relationship
between scientific and religious thought from the perspective of major
developments in the history of science. Prerequisites: PHIL 105 and 205; 3.0
Credit hours
PHIL 365 Topics in Science, Technology, and Society
This class
investigates issues and themes connected with the relationships between
science, technology, and human values: e.g., the role of science and technology
in society; technology and ethics; critical theory of technology; philosophy of
engineering; artificial intelligence and human nature; and science as a social
process. Prerequisites: PHIL 105 and 205. 3.0 Credit hours
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