Science, Religion, and Philosophy: A Commemoration of the World’s Parliament of Religions September 13-15, 2013

In 1893, The World’s Parliament of Religions met in Chicago from the 15th of May until the 28th of October. This coming year (2013) marks the 120th anniversary of this gathering where the leading representatives of the religions of the world engaged in dialogue. To commemorate this event, Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in conjunction with the Hegeler-Carus Foundation is hosting a symposium on the relationship between science, religion, and philosophy. One of the themes of the Parliament was “…the actual harmony of science and religion; and the origin and nature of the alleged conflict between them.”

In keeping with one of the themes of the World’s Parliament of Religions, Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in collaboration with the Hegeler-Carus Foundation invite papers that address any aspect of the relationship between science and religion. Some pertinent questions may include the following:

What role does the separation of emotion from rationality play in the supposed conflict between science and religion?
If we are going to have science as religion and religion as science do we need to set aside sentiment, passion and prejudice?
How can science and religion have a harmonious relationship?
Is religion distinct from religious experience and does this affect the relationship with science?
Can the way we experience value reveal objective truth?
What is the relationship between love and science? Does love play a role in science?
In discovering scientific truths, are we discovering God?
Does religious experience involve science and if so, how?
What does it mean to be human? Do we need God and religion?
How do science and religion enrich and/or diversify our experience? Can either make us better as individuals and/or as a whole?
How does one pray if science is religion and religion is science?
What is the root or foundation of science and/or religion?
How did other participants of the World’s Parliament of Religions address the relationship between religion and science?

Guidelines for Submission:
DEADLINE for submissions is June 31, 2013. This is a firm deadline. We will stop accepting submissions at midnight Central Standard Time on June 31st. Only completed papers of 12-14 pages double spaced will be accepted. Please submit your paper following the guidelines below.
Email your submission as an attachment to cgould@lib.siu.edu. In your email please include your name and contact information as well as the title of your paper. As an attachment please prepare your paper for blind review and attach it along with an abstract to the email.

Anonymity: Papers must be suitable for blind review. Please refrain from making references to your own work, your location, or anything obvious that could reveal your identity. If the author’s identity can be determined through self-references, endnotes, etc., the submission may be disqualified. Avoid headers/footers because they often contain information that breaches anonymity. NOTE: MS Word documents can sometimes reveal the author’s identity through word tags. Microsoft explains how to change or erase these here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100240611033.aspx#1
Number of Submissions: Please note that multiple submissions will not be accepted.