Prachuab Samranrom. The religious science : an integration of world religions with science . Master's Degree(Comparative Religion). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
The religious science : an integration of world religions with science
Abstract:
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the reciprocal relationship
between the two most powerful forces of history: science and religion. It was based on
documentary research and aimed to create an application of religious doctrine in the domain of
scientific knowledge, and vice versa.
The integration of science and religion will generate a new subject discipline called
Religious Science which will provide a global vision in face of the current threat to humanity
and, in turn, facilitate cooperation between scientists and theologians to avert the present
crisis. Religious Science will incorporate the vital concept of education through diversity,
whereby adherents of diverse religious traditions and different scientific tenets can co-exist in
harmony.
Many people have attempted to explain the historical and methodological relationship of
science and religion. The relationships between science and religion today can be conveniently
grouped under four basic models. The first model is Conflict and includes proponents of a
philosophy of materialism, on the one hand, and advocates of biblical literalism or
creationism, on the other. The second is Independence which avoids conflict by assigning
science and religion to completely separate domains that do not interact with each other. The
third is Dialogue which brings science and religion under a conversation on a common subject
between scientific concepts with traditional theological concepts. The fourth is Integration,
under which a closer connection between science and religion is sought, usually by the
reformulation of classical religious science’s doctrines.
This suggests that integration of science and religion could be accomplished at the level
of a doctrine. The integration of science and religion is a new initiative arising from this
research. It is hoped that Religious Science will become methodological in an ambitious
attempt to innovate a common knowledge, which would be both scientific and religious