Many people see contemporary scientific theories of the origin of the universe and of humankind as in conflict with accounts given in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Others see the notions of evolution and the Big Bang as consistent with the basic tenants of these Western philosophical perspectives. Still others insist that the scientific findings are not only consistent with such religious belief but in fact supportive of it, providing additional evidence for the existence of God. For instance, there has been much current debate about the Anthropic Principle and the idea that there must have been a God fine-tuning the universe in order for it to have developed with the capacity to support the life of being such as ourselves. The links here may help you clarify your own perspective on these issues.
For a more general look at the relation between science and Western religion see "The Fate of the Cartesian Compromise" in the Contemporary Connections for Chapter 3.
Detailed overview of the debate between supporters of evolution and supporters of creationism from ReligiousTolerance.org (
http://www.religioustolerance.org/evolutio.htm
)
Web site with links to articles in defense of creationism (
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home.asp?aigHomeCountry=United+States&aigEvents=United+St...
)
Online book from the National Academy of Sciences against creationism; also available in html format here (
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309064066/html/
)
Collection of pamphlets on evolution and against the teaching of creationism from the National Center for Science Education (
http://www.natcenscied.org/article.asp
)
Discussion by Robert Koons (University of Texas) of the idea that "anthropic coincidences" revealed by science lend support to the belief in God (
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/philosophy/faculty/koons/svsu.html
)
Overview and criticism of attempts to appeal to the anthropic principle as evidence for the existence of God by Krishna Kunchithapadam (
http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Facility/4118/misc/anthropic.html
)
Article by William Lane Craig (Universite Catholique de Louvain) in defense of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God (
http://www.human-nature.com/books/lifelines.html
)
Religion and the State: Prayer in School?
Whatever we as individuals may believe about religious issues, the question remains what place there is for religious expression in the public schools. Here are a few hyperlinks that may serve as a starting point for using the Internet to investigate this issue.
Web site devoted to the school prayer issue; includes brief historical summary, statement of current law, pro and anti position statements, general church/state links, etc. (
http://www.schoolprayer.com/eduguide/current_law.html
)
Detailed overview of the issue and account of the current legal situation from ReligiousTolerance.org (
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ps_pray.htm
)
Objections by American Atheists to school prayer (
http://www.atheists.org/schoolhouse/faqs.prayer.html
)
Eastern Religions and Western Culture: Yoga and Meditation
Though relatively few Americans consider themselves to be followers of Hinduism or Buddhism, increasing numbers are finding value in the practices of yoga and meditation. To what extent are such exercises capable of being helpfully incorporated into Western spiritual traditions or into a secular humanist perspective? The links below will allow you to learn more about these practices.
Online magazine with information about hatha yoga poses (with photographs), health benefits, tips on meditation, articles, etc. (
http://www.yogajournal.com/
)
Online book on Theravada insight meditation by Henepola Gunaratana (
http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/G/Gunaratana/MindfulnessIPE/index.html
)