Science and Religion in the West: Perspectives through a Baha'i Lens

Science and religion have had an integral relationship since the early days of the Enlightenment in the seventeenth century and the rise of a new global culture. Life-long educator Allen McKiel surveys this relationship via the writings of prominent scientists and religionists over the past four hundred years.The experience of the unity of God is evident in stories, parables, and scriptures in all extant cultures through teachers like Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad. They are expressions of the same human consciousness that begs answers to the questions of identity: Who and what are we? Where did we come from, why, and where are we going? People in all cultures ask these questions, and the answers are both the same and relative to the needs and circumstances of each culture. Today’s cultures, however, are converging into an increasingly integrated harmonious whole supported in equal part by religions and science. This work constructs a vision of the way forward from evidence provided by both. Allen McKiel is an educator and life-long learner. His primary role has been as an administrator of library services in higher education, most recently as dean of the library at Western Oregon University. He has written two other books: Beyond Tolerance: Religion and Global Community in 2007 and Human Being: Reflections from Psychology and Religion in 2018.