The Univesity of Alcalá discusses the complex relationship between science and religion.

The University of Alcalá will be holding an international symposium centered on the debate surrounding the complex relationship between science and religion. The debate, which will bring together professors and experts not only from Spain’s top educational institutions and governing bodies, such as the Spanish Bioethics Committee, but also leading researchers and professors from Oxford University, University College London, the University of California and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The coordinators of the event are Emilio Chuvieco, Head of Geography at the University of Alcalá and Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute at Cambridge University, both of whom will lead discussions (see below for a speech by Dr. Alexander about evolution and the church). The areas covered over the two day event, will span from the debate between evolution and creation, the effects religious values have on environmental changes, the use of ethics in medical situations and the possible existence of a soul.

The aim of the symposium, which is entitled ‘Science and Religion in the 20^th century: dialogue or confrontation?’, will be to promote reflection on the different methods in which such a complex relationship can be analyzed, exploring how they interact and examining the way in which they conflict.

The event will be taking place in Madrid, on the 10^th and 11^th of November, and is part of the University of Alcalá’s fascinating ‘Science Week’ one of the leading events of its type, that serves to highlight the development and importance of science in Spain on an international level.