Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s Natural Science Department will play host to a Science and Religion Workshop on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 3 p.m. in the Science Amphitheater on the Alva campus.
This event is free and open to the public. Dr. Aaron Place, professor of biology at Northwestern, encourages people to attend who are interested to learn more about the relationship between religion and science in an informal gathering.
Place and the Rev. J.F. Wickey of the United Church of Christ will give short talks about the topics. A discussion time will follow the presentations.
Place and Wickey have previously co-authored some children’s books over the same topic and have been friends for years.
This event is in conjunction with the national event “Evolution Weekend” through the Clergy Letter Project, which is typically in association with Charles Darwin’s birthday, Feb. 10. According to the Clergy Letter Project (clergyletterproject.org), Evolution Weekend is an opportunity for serious discussion and reflection on the relationship between religion and science. An ongoing goal has been to elevate the quality of the discussion on this critical topic and to show that religion and science are not adversaries. Rather, they look at the natural world from quite different perspectives to ask and answer different questions.
“This event is not intended to be a debate,” Place said. “The point isn’t to debate whether or not evolution is true or if it’s better or more right than religion; it’s about bringing science and religion together to talk about real problems and how we might address them.
“Anyone who is interested in the relationship between science and religion in a philosophical sense, a non-adversarial sense, this is something you would be interested in.”
For more information contact Place at (580) 327-8673 or ajplace@nwosu.edu.