Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
I was a bit queasy when I woke up this morning to see the announcement below. It’s not that I don’t like Jane Goodall, for who doesn’t? She’s a respected primatologist, spent years finding out new stuff about chimps, and is also a conservationist and prolific publicizer of science, as well as founder of her … Continue reading Jane Goodall nabs the Templeton Prize
It’s been roughly four years since I wrote about Elaine Ecklund‘s efforts to show that religion and science aren’t in conflict and also that scientists are more religious than one might suspect (see posts here). A sociologist at Rice University, Ecklund has been funded, as far as I can see, nearly continuously by various Templeton … Continue reading Russell Blackford reviews Elaine Ecklund’s latest religion-osculating book
“Give me the child and I’ll give you a faith-ridden adult”. (Implicit motto of the John Templeton Foundation and the Faraday Institute) The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, England (webpage here) describes itself as “an interdisciplinary research enterprise based in Cambridge. In addition to academic research, the Institute engages in the … Continue reading The Templeton-funded Faraday Institute proselytizes kids by promoting books on God
Reader Mark Jones called my attention (as did other readers) to this three-part BBC show with an accommodationist theme (click on screenshot), whose first part aired yesterday morning in the UK. Mark did some digging on the show and its host, Nick Spencer, and found substantial Templeton influence and dosh behind it. His summary is … Continue reading The BBC osculates religion and touts accommodationism—with a little help from Templeton
Reader Mark called my attention to an accommodationist essay in Aeon by Tom McLeish, described as “a professor of natural philosophy in the Department of Physics at the University of York in the UK. He is the author of Faith and Wisdom in Science (2014), Let There Be Science (2016) and The Poetry and Music of Science (2019)”. McLeish, … Continue reading Science versus religion: Are they “gifts” to each other?
I mentioned the project/website “Sinai and Synapses” (S&S) a few days ago (oy, what a name!). It came up in an accommodationist article written by Brian Gallagher, editor of a Nautilus blog and also a S&S fellow. Checking out the S&S site, whose mottos are below, I see it’s the Jewish equivalent of BioLogos: a … Continue reading A “Sinai and Synapses” writer tries to show that religion gives us truths that science cannot, fails miserably
Nautilus Magazine is an online site that bills itself as “a different kind of science magazine.” And indeed it is—for it’s partly supported by the John Templeton Foundation (JTF). The Foundation is largely dedicated to showing that religion and science are compatible,—even in harmony—for Sir John left his dosh to the JTF to fund projects showing … Continue reading A bogus reconciliation of science and religion from Nautilus
Lest you think that the Templeton foundations have changed their mission, have a gander. As you may recall, when Sir John died in 2008, he left much of his fortune—acquired by creating investment funds and moving to the Bahamas to avoid taxes—to his own foundations, with the aim of showing that science and religion are … Continue reading Templeton gives half a million dollars to demonstrate that science and religion can help each other find truth
