PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Philadelphia Center for Religion
and Science announced today that it has changed its name to the Metanexus
Institute for Science and Religion in response to an increasingly global
mission and presence. In addition, the Institute announced that it was the
recipient of a $3 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation that will
enable a major expansion of the Institute's efforts to promote
interdisciplinary and inter-religious dialogue. The new Institute plans to
open an office in the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, adjacent
to the University of Pennsylvania.
Metanexus was founded in 1998 and grew quickly to become one of the
premier organizations promoting an academically rigorous and spiritually
multifaceted dialogue between science and religion. Starting with less than
600 subscribers, the effort has expanded into an online forum with
10,000 weekly page views and over 5,000 regular subscribers in
57 different countries. There are now several topical discussion forums and
plans to launch a number of foreign language discussion lists to further
broaden this global dialogue. The service is free and can be found at
http://www.metanexus.net.
The decision to change its name to the Metanexus Institute came out of a
four-month board effort to evaluate the organization's mission and governance
in light of the dramatic growth opportunities. "Our goal is to gracefully
encompass the diverse and global perspectives of the projects we initiate and
administer," said Dr. Solomon Katz, president of the Metanexus Institute's
board of directors and a physical anthropologist at the University of
Pennsylvania. "By working closely with the John Templeton Foundation and
others, we hope to further encourage the dialogue between science and religion
at an important moment in our natural history and cultural evolution."
The John Templeton Foundation's grant to the Institute will allow for an
increased effort in program development between the two organizations. "Our
work with the Metanexus Institute will support the common goals shared by many
of our colleagues that scientific and religious progress are vitally important
to the future," said Judith Marchand, vice president of the John Templeton
Foundation. "We anticipate that our ongoing and expanded collaboration with
the Metanexus Institute will advance this field and develop broader, richer
programs that promote substantive advancement in scholarship and the
interpretive interface of science and theology."
The Metanexus Institute advances research, education and outreach on the
constructive engagement of science and religion. Metanexus is part of a
growing network of individuals and groups exploring the dynamic interface
between cosmos, nature and culture in communities and campuses throughout the
world. Metanexus sponsors public lectures, faculty trainings, workshops for
congregations, research seminars, course development grants, Internet
publications, and community events. Metanexus also hosts an online magazine
and discussion forum with over 10,000 weekly page views and 5,000 regular
subscribers in 57 different countries at http://www.metanexus.net. The
Institute is funded by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation and
other private sponsors.
The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to pursue new insights at
the boundary between theology and science through a rigorous, open-minded and
empirically focused methodology, drawing together talented representatives
from a wide spectrum of fields of expertise. Using "the humble approach," the
Foundation typically seeks to focus the methods and resources of scientific
inquiry on topical areas, which have spiritual and theological significance
ranging across the disciplines from cosmology to healthcare. For more
information, visit our website at http://www.templeton.org.
SOURCE Metanexus Institute for Science and Religion
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Related links:
http://www.templeton.org
http://www.metanexus.net
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CONTACT:
Silas Deane of Logic Media Group,
+1-615-244-8035, or Silas@logicmediagroup.com, for Metanexus
Institute for Science and Religion
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