Science and Religion Forum (SRF) conference

15 May 2025

The SRF 50th anniversary conference takes place at the end of the month.

As you may be aware, 2025 marks 50 years of the SRF. We are really proud that the Forum has managed to provide a friendly but critical space to foster the dialogue between science and all religion as well as provide valuable opportunities to new scholars in science and religion to find their feet and their voice.

The 50th anniversary conference takes place at the end of the month and we’ve just released day tickets and opportunity for group or education tickets. We know the value of coming together on site especially for networking and those follow on conversation and so we are hopeful that these changes will allow us to include more people in the conversation in our 50th year.

There are two opportunities to get involved:

  1. Free Gowland Lecture
    Lecture by Bishop Richard Cheetham (Respondent Dr Muthuraj Swamy) Science and Religion - a vital engagement, but where next? Why context, community and communication really matter.

    Most of the literature on the relationship between science and religion has been produced in a Western context with an emphasis on the Christian religion. However, there is increasing awareness of the wisdom and insights generated in many different contexts, cultures and religions, including indigenous knowledge.

    There is also a growing appreciation that some of the major issues of the 21st century (e.g. AI, genetics, climate change and biodiversity loss etc.) require far more than a narrow focus scientific analysis from a predominantly western viewpoint. In a globalized, hyper-connected world, these issues need to be explored with ethical, philosophical, spiritual and theological lenses. It is crucially important to pay close attention to the effect of context on how the science and religion relationship is understood.

    This lecture will explore how such an inter-contextual approach is working in the Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS) project and also in the work of the Anglican Communion Science Commission, and outline some principles for a genuinely fruitful science and religion relationship in the future.

    The lecture is free to attend or stream but we ask people to register to ensure they receive the booking link and/or support, rooming or catering for on site attendance.

  2. SRF 50th anniversary conference
    Revisiting and Reimagining the Relationships between Science and Religion (Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 May, Halifax Hall Sheffield and Hybrid

    The 2025 anniversary conference celebrates 50 years of the Science and Religion Forum. The conference doesn't pose the question of whether science and religion can interact but how and where they are in dialogue.

    The conference is taking a broad look at the ongoing points of connection and dissonance between science and religion. This includes questions on the interaction of indigenous knowledge with science and technology, the role of religion in tackling global issues such as sustainability, and how questions of science-and-religion are addressed in education.

    We welcome papers that engage critically with established/historic positions on science-and-religion as well as those that look forward to the upcoming opportunities and challenges.

Book your place now

We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Sheffield (or online) next month.