Handbook of religion and the authority of science / / edited by James R. Lewis and Olav Hammer.

• Superior document: Brill handbooks on contemporary religion, v. 3
• TeilnehmendeR: Lewis, James R.,; Hammer, Olav,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2011.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Brill handbooks on contemporary religion ; v. 3.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

There has been a significant but little-noticed aspect of the interface between science and religion, namely the widespread tendency of religions to appeal to science in support of their truth claims. Though the appeal to science is most evident in more recent religions like Christian Science and Scientology, no major faith tradition is exempt from this pattern. Members of almost every religion desire to see their ‘truths’ supported by the authority of science – especially in the midst of the present historical period, when all of the comforting old certainties seem problematic and threatened. The present collection examines this pattern in a wide variety of different religions and spiritual movements, and demonstrates the many different ways in which religions appeal to the authority of science. The result is a wide-ranging and uniquely compelling study of how religions adapt their message to one of the major challenges presented by the contemporary world.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / James R. Lewis and Olav Hammer -- Introduction / Olav Hammer and James R. Lewis -- How Religions Appeal To The Authority Of Science / James R. Lewis -- From Analogies To Narrative Entanglement: Invoking Scientific Authority In Indian New Age Spirituality / Kathinka Frøystad -- “We Demand Bedrock Knowledge”: Modern Satanism Between Secularized Esotericism And ‘Esotericized’ Secularism / Jesper Aagaard Petersen -- Buddhism As The “Religion Of Science”: From Colonial Ceylon To The Laboratories Of Harvard / David L. McMahan -- Falun Gong And Science: Origins, Pseudoscience, And China’s Scientific Establishment / Helen Farley -- Metaphorical And Metonymical Science: Constructing Authority In A Japanese New Religion / Christal Whelan -- “When Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact”: The Role Of Science, Science Fiction, And Technology In Aum Shinrikyo / Martin Repp -- Vivekananda And The Scientific Legitimation Of Advaita Vedānta / C. Mackenzie Brown -- Inverted Orientalism, Vedic Science, And The Modern World: Bhaktivedanta And The International Society For Krishna Consciousness / Benjamin E. Zeller -- Madame Blavatsky’s Children: Modern Hindu Encounters With Darwinism / Meera Nanda -- The Transcendental Meditation Organization And Its Encounter With Science / Cynthia Ann Humes -- The Sikh Scientific Ethic—Worldly And Mystical / Richard Cimino -- The God Experiment: Radhasoami’s Version Of Science And The Rhetoric Of Guru Succession / David Christopher Lane -- The Use Of Medicinal Legitimizations In The Construction Of Religious Practice: The Dietary Laws Of Judaism / Damián Setton -- Science Is Just Catching Up: The Kabbalah Centre And The Neo-Enlightenment / Hanna Skartveit -- Islamic Opposition To The Darwinian Theory Of Evolution / Martin Riexinger -- Fighting Science With Science At Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network / Carie Little Hersh -- Christian Science, New Thought, And Scientific Discourse / Jeremy Rapport -- The Unification Movement: Science, Religion, And Absolute Values / Sarah M. Lewis -- Spiritualism And Psychical Research / Cathy Gutierrez -- Popular Epistemologies And “Spiritual Science” In Early Twentieth-Century Buenos Aires / Gustavo Andrés Ludueña -- Parapsychology: Naturalising The Supernatural, Re-Enchanting Science / Egil Asprem -- The “Scientific” Presentation And Legitimation Of The Teaching Of Synchronicity In New Age Literature / Jochen Scherer -- Science As Legitimation For Spirituality: From The Aquarian Conspiracy To Channelling And A Course In Miracles / Ruth Bradby -- Modern Western Magic And Altered States Of Consciousness / Nevill Drury -- Legitimizing Belief Through The Authority Of Science: The Case Of The Church Of Scientology / Régis Dericquebourg -- New Religions And The Science Of Archaeology: Mormons, The Goddess, And Atlantis / Carole M. Cusack -- Is Dialogue Between Religion And Science Possible? The Case Of Archaeology And The Goddess Movement / Kathryn Rountree -- Mormon Archaeology And The Claims Of History / Charles W. Nuckolls -- Folklore And Discourse: The Authority Of Scientific Rhetoric, From State Atheism To New Spirituality / Ülo Valk.