The International Religion-Science Discourse: Pitfalls, Obstacles, And Opportunities (The End Matters) (Philip Clayton's Works, Ohn Templeton Foundation's International Society for Science and Religion ‪)‬

In his perceptive article on the state of contemporary religion and science discourse, Philip Clayton had hoped that the concrete proposals he offered in his article "will call forth responses from Islamic scholars". (1) He had suggested that "the pages of Islam & Science offer the ideal forum in which to explore what theoretical foundations there are for future science-religion programs and what types of programs would be of most interest to Muslim scientists and to scholars of Islam". (2) This "Endnote" offers a perspective of a Muslim who has been part of that international discussion for over a decade and who has closely watched, analyzed, and discussed this discourse with many Muslim, Christian, and Jewish participants. It is also an effort to bring into relief some of the pitfalls, obstacles, and opportunities which characterize this inter-faith dialogue at a time when the situation of the world--which cannot be abstracted from this discourse on the relationship between science and religion--is marked by enormous tragedies: earthquakes, hurricanes, and acts of terrorism leading to the sudden death of thousands of human beings. Clayton had pointed out that compared to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the religion and science dialogue saw a global explosion, today "we face a much darker time ... Unnecessary and ill-conceived wars are being fought, and our hearts are wrenched daily by pictures of the deaths of innocent people ... Undoubtedly wrongs are being committed on both sides, and a balanced discussion of the political situation would have to present it in all its ambiguities. Still, among the wrongs to be acknowledged are the aggressive policies and cultural insensitivity of the current American administration. Saddest of all, one recognizes that some of the misguided policies stem, at least in part, from a wrongly politicized interpretation of Christianity in its relationship to Islamic cultures and nations." Clayton had very perceptively realized that "for many Muslims the recent hostilities have done great damage to the partnership in which we were engaged together until only recently." (3)