Religious Belief and Science: A Reference Handbook

by Glenn H. Utter

Overview

This resource helps readers navigate and better understand the religious, cultural, and political impact of American views of religious faith and scientific inquiry. Do different religious faiths and traditions hold varying views on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution? How does religious belief shape American attitudes about vaccination and climate change? How have American political affiliations been influenced by these controversies and debates? This all-in-one resource provides answers to all these questions and more.

Coverage includes narrative chapters detailing how religious belief and science have intersected in the lives of Americans historically, as well as how they shape our lives today. Other features include scholarly essays discussing how people of different religious beliefs (as well as people who are non-religious) view science and its role in American society, biographical profiles of activists and opinion-shapers, tables and figures, primary documents, annotated bibliography, and chronology of events.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440881060
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/09/2025
Series:	Contemporary World Issues
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Glenn H. Utter is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, USA. His areas of instruction include American government and politics and classical and contemporary political thought. Dr. Utter received his B.A. in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his M.A. in philosophy from the University of London (Bedford College). Dr. Utter has authored the books Campaign and Election Reform (ABC-CLIO, 2008) and The Religious Right: A Reference Handbook (ABC-CLIO, 2001). He also co-edited American Political Scientists: A Dictionary (Greenwood, 2002).

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Background and History
Science
Religious Belief
Christianity
Judaism
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Historical Relationship between Science and Religion
Mistrust of Science and Scientists
Science, Postmodernism, and Social Constructionism
Science and the Bible
Stephen Jay Gould and Non-Overlapping Magisteria
Overlapping of Religion and Science
The Influence of Religion on Science
Church Positions on Science in the United States
Mainline Denominations
Conservative/Evangelical Denominations

2. Problems, Controversies, and Solutions
Prohibition
Evolution
Medication abortion
Homosexuality
Gender transition
Climate change
Covid-19 and vaccination
Creationism, geology, and the age of the earth
Medical aid in dying
Fluoridation of water
Artificial intelligence
Education

3. Perspectives
Unitarian Universalists and Science
Jeffrey Victor

Religious Belief and Attitudes about the Possibility of Extra-Terrestrial Life
James M. Vanderleeuw

The Evolution of Understanding the American Public's Understanding of Evolution
Glenn Branch

God Is Real, but Space Is Fake: Flat Earth and Religious Belief
Craig Foster

Religious Belief and Views of the Covid-19 Vaccine
Thomas E. Sowers

4. Profiles
Michael Behe
Greg Cootsona
Daniel Dennett
Owen G. Gingerich
Stephen Jay Gould
William Sanford Nye
Naomi Oreskes
Alvin Plantinga
T. O. Shanavas
Neil deGrass Tyson
Howard J. Van Till
Alan B. Wallace

American Scientific Affiliation
Center for Inquiry
Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
Discovery Institute
Evangelical Environmental Network
Freedom From Religion Foundation
Institute for Creation Research
John Templeton Foundation
National Center for Science Education
Reasons to Believe

5. Data and Documents

The Teaching of Evolution

Tennessee Butler Act, 1925
Exchange between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, State of Tennessee v. Scopes, 1925
Arkansas Anti-Evolution Statute, 1928
Opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas, Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968
Arkansas Balanced Treatment of Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public Schools Act, 1981
Decision by Judge William Overton, McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education, 1982
Louisiana Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act, 1981
Opinion by William J. Brennan, Edwards v. Aguillard, 1987
Dover Area School District Board of Directors Resolution, 2004
Tammy Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District et al., 2005

Abortion and Fertility

Decision by Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al. v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al., 2023
Concurring Opinion by Chief Justice Tom Parker, Le Page v. Reproductive Medicine, 2024

6. Resources
Books
Periodicals
Websites
Videos

7. Chronology

Glossary
Index