Although not trained as a “theologian,” for years I’ve written and taught about theology. I’ve done this primarily as a student of Islamic history and societies, and I have committed to communicating to my own students some of the intricate subtleties and deep wisdom of the medieval kalām tradition (dialectical or “scholastic” theology)—the intellectual stock-and-trade of such famous practitioners as al-Ghazali, Maimonides, and Aquinas.

The conversation between the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) about collaborating on a project like Science for Seminaries has been going on for over a decade. The program took shape three years ago with funding from the John Templeton Foundation. My observations in this essay focus on the overall importance of the project, as well as some of the key findings from its research component.

The Importance of the Science for Seminaries Initiative for ATS

“We live in a time when natural science, social science, engineering, and technology are among the primal shapers of our civilization.”    

– interviewee from a mid-sized Evangelical Protestant seminary

The intersection of science and theology has been an interest of mine for many years. As a young college student majoring in philosophy, on the trek towards theological education for ministry and later doctoral studies in theology, I pondered—and sometimes agonized—over the big questions about the origin and nature of the universe and human life.¹ At the time, I intuited and am now solidly convinced that the ministry to which I was called requires nothing less than the kind of cultural fluency that includes the scientific literacy necessary for participation in the ongoing conversation about meaning and purpose in human life, and especially about the pursuit of just societies.²