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MUSC receives grant to fund science, religion course The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), Science and Religion Course Program, has awarded MUSC with a $10,000 grant to fund the development of a new course focusing on the ongoing dialogue between science and religion.  The grant is one of 100 awards given to colleges and universities around the world in CTNS’ annual Science and Religion Course Award Competition. Professors Albert Keller and Robert W. Ogilvie Jr., Ph.D., received the award for their course entitled, “Graduate Seminar in Science and Religion.” “As the pace and scope of scientific discovery increases, as science and technological discoveries permeate the everyday world of religious and cultural traditions, courses which critically address the relationship between science and our religious experiences become increasingly vital,” said Dr. Ted Peters, director of the CTNS Science and Religion Course Program. “By bringing science and religion into contact with one another at universities our goal is to foster a worldwide community of scientists and religious intellectuals to actively engage in formulating and addressing questions of ultimate concern.” In addition to MUSC, $10,000 course grants have been awarded to schools from across the United States and schools in Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Estonia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Sweden, The Netherlands, Uganda, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The award is divided evenly between the course instructor and the institution.  For a complete listing of this years winning schools, visit the CTNS Web site at <http://www.ctns.org>. Established in 1994, the CTNS Science and Religion Course Program (SRCP) has granted 669 awards for new courses in science and religion. It is estimated that these awards have resulted in more than 1,500 new courses offerings on campuses around the world and approximately 40,000 students have included science and religion dialogue in their academic pursuits. “Funding can often be an obstacle to developing new college courses, these grants offer professors the ability to introduce new curriculum,” said Peter Hess, associate director of the CTNS Science and Religion Course Program. “These awards allow professors to engage questions of growing importance worldwide.” CTNS is a non-profit international member organization, affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. The center promotes the creative mutual interaction between theology and the natural sciences through research, teaching, and public service.  Graduate Seminar: Dialogue in Science and Religion The course objectives for the Graduate Seminar are that every participant: Place the current dialogue between science and religion/theology in the context of religion-science interactions in the west since the Enlightenment. Understand both the differences and the similarities between scientific method and theological method with command of the relevant philosophical vocabulary. Examine carefully and critically the substantive themes discussed by Barbour in his book entitled, “Religion and Science.” With equal care and criticism, examine other viewpoints or research programs in the science-theology dialogue, including at least one from a theological perspective other than Christian. Clarify your integrity and vision as scientists (or scientific physicians), achieving whatever integration of your professional life and your faith perspective you choose.