Letters of Intent received in 2022

LoI 2024-2158
Science and Religion

Topics

How to approach or present the topic of science and religion to general audiences of whatever religious persuasion

Pursuant to or as a base for the above, the boundaries of what science can and cannot say about astronomy and cosmology

The above will include addressing what questions can be settled scientifically and with what certainty and what questions cannot

Address the risks for not addressing these issues above in a meaningful way and proposing ways for mitigating those risks

Rationale

It is timely and very important to allow meaningful dialogue about science and religion -- these major human endeavors -- and to assess the relation between them. This IAU Focus Meeting on science and religion is proposed for the IAU GA 2024 to explore the topic in at least two themes. First it is to address the issue of how to approach or present the topic of science and religion to general audiences, of whatever religious persuasion, who may have questions about the relation between the two. Scientists, including members of the IAU, are approached on this issue quite often when dealing with general audiences or non-scientists either in the media, public outreach or the classroom. It is therefore important they have some thought-out framework or references for handling the issue, and the meeting will deepen and advance that.

Pursuant to or as a base for the above, the meeting will address the issues on the boundaries of what science can and cannot say about astronomy and cosmology and what can be said scientifically and with what degrees of certainty. This will include addressing what questions can be settled scientifically and with what certainty, such as the birth and evolution of planets, stars and galaxies and age of the universe, and what questions cannot, such as why the universe exists, how it was created, and what there was before it came into being. The meeting will also address the risks for not addressing these issues in a meaningful way and propose ways for mitigating those risks. Our scientific committee will be well-resourced, diverse and include members who have written on these topics.

The IAU Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage and the IAU Commission C3 History of Astronomy are the best structures in the IAU to hold the coordinating responsibilities for this meeting, given that it covers astronomy education, outreach, heritage and history and its intersections with society and culture. Due to the complexity, significance and importance of organizing a meeting on this topic, the meeting will be inclusive and consultative through its planning and execution. Due to its reach, it also makes sense to put the meeting in the broad context of science and religion rather than just narrowly about astronomy and religion.

The Scientific Organizing Committee co-Chairs are Prof Lerothodi Leeuw, Prof George Ellis (South Africa) and Prof Piero Benvenuti (Italy), ex-Officio …. The listed co-Chairs are males and will be the co-Editors of the Proceedings for this meeting.