ELON COLLEGE, N.C. – Pranab Das, assistant professor of physics at Elon College, will join 60 of the world’s leading scientists in a dialogue focusing on the relationship of science and spirituality. Das, along with several Nobel laureates and other renowned experts in the fields of biology, genetics, evolutionary biology, physics, human sciences, computer science and information technology, will gather in Paris in January 2001 for a workshop on physics and cosmology.
The “Science and the Spiritual Quest II (SSQII)” project is a program of The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. The first SSQ project ran from 1996 to 1998, giving leading scientists of different faiths the opportunity to explore connections between their scientific work and their religious beliefs. SSQII, which is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, will involve closed-door workshops and seminars and six major conferences around the world over the next four years.
In addition to Das, program participants will include world-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall; Baruch Blumberg, 1976 Nobel Laureate in Medicine for discoveries related to infectious diseases; William Phillips, 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics, for atomic research; and Ilya Prigogine, 1977 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, for research on thermodynamics.
Questions considered by the scientists will include:
– Does the science/religion relationship take different forms in the Western and Eastern contexts?
– Does a spirituality informed by scientific knowledge share common features across the world’s religious traditions?
– Do religious scientists recognize shared beliefs and practices more easily than do non-scientists from the various religious traditions?
– Do religious scientists around the world approach science differently than their non-religious colleagues?
– What does spirituality contribute to the scientific quest, and what does science contribute to the spiritual quest?
Selected philosophers and theologians will be invited to summarize the challenges and possibilities facing the science and spirituality discussion. Findings of the project will be presented and published in scholarly and popular forms around the world.
Das, who is chair and assistant professor of physics, has been a member of the Elon faculty since 1993. He received a Templeton Foundation award in 1998 with fellow Elon faculty member Jeffrey Pugh, professor of religious studies, to develop a course on science and religion. In 2000, Das received a second Templeton development award to continue his work in this area. He is an advocate of interdisciplinary collaboration to further scientific understanding, and has worked closely with a number of Elon colleagues in a wide range of disciplines.
“There are some things science cannot tell us,” says Das. “We have to ask ourselves ‘Where do we go when science can’t help?’ All good scientists know there are boundaries, and our spirituality can help us deal with that.”
Das says he looks forward to working with some of the world’s deepest minds in an intense reflection on several of the greatest and most puzzling questions facing the world of science.
Das is currently working on two books: “Science and Religion: Bridging the Gap” which will be published by Wadsworth and “A Small History of Space.” Both of these were supported by funding from the Elon College Faculty Research and Development Committee. Das also specializes in chaos theory and looks at neural networks in the brain. He has a bachelor’s degree from Reed College and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.
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