Interactions Between Religion and Science Education Perspectives of the Sinai and Synapses Fellows

Abstract

Several years ago, at a conference for science educators, we were discussing with colleagues the interactions between science and religion, particularly when it came to the students in our science classrooms. At that time, science educators who were interested in religion really didn’t speak out much at academic meetings about their interest; it just didn’t seem to be of much interest to the general science education community. In fact, in response to our discussion, a respected colleague said that he really didn’t care about students’ religious beliefs as they were not relevant to the science he was teaching in the classroom. That exchange led to much more reflection and dialogue over the coming years about how important it really might be for science teachers to consider the religious perspectives of their students; spoiler alert …we think it is important.