Against the Science-Religion Conflict: The Genesis of a Calvinist Science Faculty in the Netherlands in the Early Twentieth Century

Autor/in	Flipse, Abraham C.
Titel	Against the Science-Religion Conflict: The Genesis of a Calvinist Science Faculty in the Netherlands in the Early Twentieth Century
Quelle	In: Annals of Science, 65 (2008) 3, S.363-391 (29 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0003-3790
Schlagwörter	Conflict; Christianity; Natural Sciences; Foreign Countries; College Faculty; Educational History; Religious Cultural Groups; Church Related Colleges; Educational Environment; Science Education; Science Teachers; Creationism; Scientific Concepts; Scientists; Science History; Philosophy; Mathematics; Netherlands + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Konflikt; Christentum; Naturwissenschaften; Ausland; Fakultät; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Kirchliche Gruppe; Religionszugehörigkeit; Kirchliche Hochschule; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Science; Teacher; Teachers; Science teacher; Wissenschaft; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Schöpfungstheologie; Scientist; Wissenschaftler; History of science; Wissenschaftsgeschichte; Philosophie; Mathematik; Niederlande
Abstract	This paper gives an account of the establishment and expansion of a Faculty of Science at the Calvinist "Free University" in the Netherlands in the 1930s. It describes the efforts of a group of orthodox Christians to come to terms with the natural sciences in the early twentieth century. The statutes of the university, which had been founded in 1880, prescribed that all research and teaching should be based on Calvinist, biblical principles. This ideal was formulated in opposition to the claim of nineteenth-century scientific naturalists that there was an inherent conflict between science and religion. However, despite their selection on the basis of their strict Calvinist beliefs, the first science professors attributed a certain independence to the domain of science. They agreed with the criticism of the conflict thesis, and tried to defuse the tensions between science and religion, although mainly at the level of philosophy and history, looking for example for harmony between science and religion in the past. Ironically, as a result of this approach, the Calvinist scientists mainly contributed to the acceptance of mainstream science in Dutch Calvinist circles, contrary to developments in other countries (notably the USA) where the conflict between science and orthodox Christianity has reasserted itself. (Contains 3 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10