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What should be the role of religion in science education and bioethics?

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Sacred Science?

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Abstract

In much of Europe the importance of religion has been waning for at least a hundred and fifty years, probably much longer. However, somewhat to the surprise of many people, religion continues to be important in much of European social life and politics. In certain areas, including aspects of education and bioethics, it may, if anything, be increasing in influence in some countries. This chapter will concentrate on the relevance of this to science education and bioethics. What role, if any, should religion play in these matters and how should we decide this question? I shall argue that science education and bioethics need to respond quite differently to the issue of religion, and that the reason for this difference stems from the different aims of science education and bioethics and the different ways in which the two disciplines arrive at their claims about valid knowledge.

[…] discussion of religious beliefs between a believer and a non-believer can seem superficial to the former and frustrating to the latter.

Hinde 1999

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK

    Michael J. Reiss (Professor of Science Education)

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  1. Michael J. Reiss
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Correspondence to Michael J. Reiss .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities (SVT), University of Bergen, Norway

    Simen Andersen Øyen , Tone Lund-Olsen (Senior Executive Officer) & Nora Sørensen Vaage ,  (Senior Executive Officer) & 

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Reiss, M.J. (2012). What should be the role of religion in science education and bioethics?. In: Øyen, S.A., Lund-Olsen, T., Vaage, N.S. (eds) Sacred Science?. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-752-3_10

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