Science and religion: What exactly are we arguing about?

A public lecture by Nick Spencer

7.30pm Thursday 3 November 2022
Lecture Theatre B Building 46 (Physics B)
Free Admission

Nick Spencer is Senior Fellow at the think tank Theos. He presented the Radio 4 series The Secret History of Science and Religion and is the author of Magisteria: the entangled histories of science and religion, which will be published in spring 2023.

Everyone has an opinion on how science and religion relate to one another. They're at war. They're in tension. They're in harmony. They're not even overlapping.

Unfortunately, too few people step back and ask what they are talking about in the first place. After all, how you think science and religion get on will largely depend on what you think they are.

Drawing on new research, Nick Spencer looks at some of the myths around the science and religion debate. British public opinion on this matter appears quite clear – 'conflict' rather than 'concord'. But the more you examine what people actually think and why they think it, the more you come to realise that the science and religion debate is much more complex and much more interesting than its reputation allows. Indeed, it is arguably one of the most important, and humanising, discussions you can have.

This event is organised by Christians in Science and the University’s Anglican Chaplaincy