Science and Religion Around the World

All too often scholars of science and religion have focused their attention almost exclusively on the Christian experience. At a time when religious ignorance and misunderstanding have lethal consequences, such provincialism must be avoided. This book expands our knowledge of science and religion beyond its largely Christian base to include the other Abrahamic faiths and the indigenous traditions of Africa and Asia.

Because the claim of universalism is associated with Western science, it is often taken for granted that, when exported, scientific knowledge simply diffuses unchanged into other regions. But what really happens when the science of one culture encounters that of another or becomes enmeshed in a different set of values? All too often scholars of science and religion have focused their attention almost exclusively on the Christian experience, mentioning Jews and Muslims only in passing. At a time when religious ignorance and misunderstanding have lethal consequences, such provincialism must be avoided. The wide range of possibilities in the study of science and religion makes it particularly desirable to look at both fields not parochially but around the world, and the goal of this book is to expand the knowledge of science and religion beyond its largely Christian base to include not only the other Abrahamic faiths but the indigenous traditions of Africa and Asia.