Prof relates science, religion

Temple professor William Grassie argued that science and religion are inextricably linked. With science and religion playing similar roles in shaping our lives, guest lecturer William Grassie said he considers it vitally important to establish a dialogue about the two. Grassie opened that dialogue to about 20 members of the University community in a talk entitled "Science and Religion: Who, What, Where, When, How and Why" last night in Logan Hall. The lecture -- sponsored by the Philadelphia Center for Religion and Science in conjunction with the University's Religious Studies Department -- asserted that science and religion are interrelated and not in opposition to one another. "Science and religion cover some really important territory for who we are as humans and how we think about the world and how we act in the world," said Grassie, the executive director of PCRS and a Temple University professor. In introductory remarks, Peter Dodson, president of PCRS and a professor in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, explained that the major goal of PCRS is to create a discussion about science and religion in the Philadelphia area. Grassie opened by describing PCRS and other organizations that share its interests. In front of the audience, he surfed the Internet and visited the World Wide Web sites of several of those organizations, explaining their varying perspectives on the issues of religion and science. With regard to his own perspective, Grassie said science and religion should be question and critically examined. "You have to take science with a grain of salt," he said, adding that as people are often brought up to question science, they must also be critical of religion. In the final portion of his lecture, Grassie explored how science and religion are related to each other. He said there are four major ways -- conflict, contrast, contact and confirmation -- in which the seemingly polarized subjects can actually be linked to each other. After the presentation, the sensitive nature of the subject became apparent as numerous audience members engaged in a mild debate. Bill Boore, a scientist who works at the School of Medicine, said he is interested in the dialogue linking science and religion because it is something he "never thought was possible." College sophomore Kelly McMullen said she also found the topic interesting. "These are the questions that are talked about in the dorms at three in the morning," she said. "It is nice to finally see them addressed in an academic setting."