The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is an academic research enterprise based in Cambridge. Offices in the Woolf Building on Madingley Road.

The Faraday Institute conducts academic research into the interface between science and religion. The Institute organises a wide range of activities, including:

Lectures and seminars - we organise free, regular lectures and seminars on a range of science and religion topics. For full details, visit our website. All are welcome. Resources - audio and video recordings of over 350 Faraday Institute

courses, lectures and seminars can be downloaded for free from our website. The website also includes a wide range of written material, and an online shop featuring heavily discounted books. Short courses - the Institute runs short, intensive weekend, and midweek courses. These are open to graduates or undergraduates from any university in the world, of any faith or none. Discounts and bursaries are available to students and those from low-income countries. Some courses give an overview of the science-religion debate, while others focus on a specific topic. Conferences - the Institute also runs residential and day conferences which focus on a particular aspect of the interaction between science and religion. Visit our website to find out more. Education and media - we seek to inform and improve the media's understanding of the interaction between science and religion.

How might science remain central to human knowledge and culture while also remaining open to spiritual flourishing?Join ...
28/05/2026

How might science remain central to human knowledge and culture while also remaining open to spiritual flourishing?

Join The Faraday Institute’s Science as a Contemplative Activity Research Hub for Rethinking the Scientific Culture and Shared Sacred Flourishing, a panel exploring the future of scientific culture through theology, philosophy, immunology, and interreligious dialogue.

4 June 2026 | 12:00–14:00
Online and in person at Westminster College, Cambridge
Speakers include David Bentley Hart, Katharina Patommel, Nicholas Spencer, and William Vendley.

Free event, co-sponsored by The Fetzer Institute and The Faraday Institute.

Register here: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/rethinking-the-scientific-culture-and-shared-sacred-flourishing

Is evolution inevitable — or remarkably improbable?On 2 June at 1pm, join Prof. Peter Jeavons for a fascinating seminar ...
26/05/2026

Is evolution inevitable — or remarkably improbable?

On 2 June at 1pm, join Prof. Peter Jeavons for a fascinating seminar exploring the idea of fine tuning in both cosmology and biology.

Using insights from computer simulations and evolutionary models, Prof. Jeavons will discuss whether the emergence of life and complexity depends on highly precise laws and initial conditions — and what this might mean for wider philosophical and scientific questions.

📅 Tuesday, 2 June 2026
🕐 1:00–2:00pm
📍 Online + Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College

All are welcome.

Register here: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-peter-jeavons-evolution-inevitable-or-remarkable/

Join us on Tuesday 19 May, 1–2pm, for a seminar with Prof. David Lahti: How Far Can Good Go Without God? The Limits of a...
12/05/2026

Join us on Tuesday 19 May, 1–2pm, for a seminar with Prof. David Lahti: How Far Can Good Go Without God? The Limits of a Naturalistic Ethic.

Prof. Lahti will explore whether a naturalistic account of human origins can fully ground our deepest intuitions about goodness, purpose, and moral reality.

The seminar will take place online and in person at the Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College, Cambridge. A light sandwich lunch will be provided from 12:30pm; please be seated by 12:50pm.

Join us on Tuesday, 19 May, 1–2pm, for a seminar with Prof. David Lahti: How Far Can Good Go Without God? The Limits of a Naturalistic Ethic.

Registration closes 15 May for the Faraday Institute Summer Course 2026📅 Monday 6 – Friday 10 July 2026📍 Hughes Hall, Ca...
11/05/2026

Registration closes 15 May for the Faraday Institute Summer Course 2026

📅 Monday 6 – Friday 10 July 2026
📍 Hughes Hall, Cambridge & Online

Join us for a week exploring Science, Religion, and Society with leading scholars and practitioners engaging topics such as:

• Artificial Intelligence and human flourishing
• Technology, culture, and public life
• Environment and health
• Mind, freedom, and ethics

Featuring speakers including Prof. Amanda Rees, Prof. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Revd Dr Gillian Straine, Dr Michael Burdett, Dr Hannah Waite, and many others.

Whether attending in Cambridge or online, participants will engage in rigorous and accessible discussions on some of today’s most pressing questions.

In-person delegates will also enjoy opportunities for conversation, networking, and activities around Cambridge.

📝 Registration closes: 15 May 2026
🔗 https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/faraday-institute-summer-course-2026-science-religion-and-society/

28/04/2026

“Do you have a problem?” 🤔
What if the tension between science and religion isn’t a problem—but a conversation?

Join Michael Reiss for a thought-provoking (and timely) talk on why teaching both matters in an age of global uncertainty.

📅 May 7, 2026 | 6:00–7:00 PM
📍 Emmanuel College, Cambridge – Queen’s Building Lecture Theatre

Come curious. Leave inspired.

22/04/2026

Looking back on a wonderful week together at last year’s Faraday Institute Summer Course 📸

From thoughtful discussions to new friendships, last summer was a rich time of learning, reflection, and conversation at the intersection of science, religion, and society. We’re delighted to invite you to join us again this year for:

Faraday Institute Summer Course 2026: Science, Religion, and Society
📅 Monday 6–Friday 10 July 2026
📍 Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and Online

This year’s course will feature contributions from Dr Michael Burdett, Dr Emily Reed Burdett, Dr Hannah Waite, Dr Thoko Kamwendo, Jeremy Peckham, Revd Dr Gillian Straine, Revd Dr Dave Bookless, Dr Mirjam Schilling, Dr Esyin Chew, Prof. Amanda Rees, and Dr Brandon Vaidyanathan.

Whether you join us in Cambridge or online, we’d love to welcome you for a week of engaging lectures, meaningful dialogue, and shared exploration.

Join us for a public lecture by Revd Prof. Michael J Reiss:The Importance of Teaching about Science and Religion in a Ti...
21/04/2026

Join us for a public lecture by Revd Prof. Michael J Reiss:

The Importance of Teaching about Science and Religion in a Time of Global Uncertainty

📅 Thursday 7 May 2026
🕕 6:00–7:00pm
📍 Queen’s Building Lecture Theatre, Emmanuel College, Cambridge

In this lecture, Prof. Reiss will explore how teaching about science and religion can help young people engage more deeply with questions of truth and goodness in an age often described as “post-truth.”

While the live event is open to in-person attendees only, a recording will be published shortly afterwards on our website.

Book at https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-michael-reiss-the-importance-of-teaching-about-science-and-religion-in-a-time-of-global-uncertainty/

Held in partnership with Christians in Science.

How should we think about the relationship between science and God?On 5 May 2026, Prof. Sverre Holm will explore this q...
17/04/2026

How should we think about the relationship between science and God?

On 5 May 2026, Prof. Sverre Holm will explore this question in a seminar titled “The Imagined Conflict: On Science and God.” Challenging the widespread assumption of conflict, the lecture will consider how the history of science often points instead to complementarity, wonder, and deeper reflection on creation.

📅 Tuesday 5 May 2026
🕐 1:00–2:00pm
📍 Online and in person, Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College

Lunch will be provided from 12:30pm. Please arrive in good time and be seated by 12:50pm.

Book at https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-sverre-holm-the-imagined-conflict-on-science-and-god/

Over the past few weeks, our Tutorial Programme Director, Dr Pui Him Ip, has been in Hong Kong meeting with our partners...
16/04/2026

Over the past few weeks, our Tutorial Programme Director, Dr Pui Him Ip, has been in Hong Kong meeting with our partners from HKU Medicine and alumni of the Faraday Tutorial Course. It has been a joy to catch up with them and hear about all they have achieved since their time in Cambridge.

Many spoke about how their year abroad inspired them and helped shape them as both individuals and medical professionals. We are so proud of them and all they have gone on to accomplish.

We hope to welcome them back to Cambridge in the future, as they will always be part of our Institute community.

🔗To learn more about this study abroad opportunity, visit our website:
https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/courses/tutorial/
📧Or contact us directly at [email protected]

Ip Pui Him

Address

Woolf Building, Madingley Road
Cambridge
CB30UB

Telephone

+441223748888

Website

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