Handbook of Religion and the Authority of Science

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.

James R. Lewis, Ph.D. (University of Wales Lampeter, 2003) in Religious Studies, is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tromsø. He has published extensively on New Religions and edits the Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion series.
Olav Hammer, Ph.D. (Lund, Sweden, 2000) in History of Religions, is Professor of the Study of Religions at the University of Southern Denmark. He has mainly published on contemporary esoteric currents and new religious movements.

This work is an important and innovative contribution to the science and religion literature with many chapters of high quality. - Michael Stausberg, University of Bergen, Norway. in: Religion, 2014