Howard University's 2016 Religion and Science Conference explored how science and religion offer insights on larger questions about meaning and purpose in human life, and showcased outreach programs in science education sponsored by religious communities, non-profit and faith-based organizations, and public schools.
Howard University School of Divinity, a historically black theological school, is one of ten schools selected to participate in the Science for Seminaries project funded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The project, at Howard University School of Divinity, is themed “Oh So Human, Yet So Divinely Complex: Science and Theology in the Exploration of Human Identity, Community, and Purpose.” Through course offerings and campus events, the goal of the project is not only to make students more aware of how the natural sciences are relevant to theology, ministry, and spirituality, but to also bring together scientists, theological educators, and clergy for conversations on an important topic in science and religion.
African American history is often told as a story of a people’s struggle to be recognized as fully human. Today the sciences are raising interesting questions and proposing new ideas about what it means to be human. This focus on the nature and meaning of human life is quite fitting for the School of Divinity, given the sizable number of scientists at Howard University, the resources of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University, and Howard University’s historic mission of serving African Americans and other peoples of color.
This project was made possible through the support of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).