Made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Research Lecture competition targets projects at 200 distinguished research universities worldwide. The 2005 winners join past recipients including Bar Ilan University, Columbia University, Stanford University, the University of Arizona, Université de Montréal, University of California at Los Angeles, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Southern California.
Andrew Newberg, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology and Psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will direct the initiative. Entitled "Mind, Religion, and Ethics in Dialogue," this project will explore the critical relationship between the mind and spirituality. This relationship includes the study of cognitive neuroscience, behavioral genetics, religious and spiritual experiences and concepts, issues related to love and compassion, and epistemological problems. Such scholarly pursuits hold critical importance for many fields including cognitive neuroscience, theology, philosophy, anthropology, law, bioethics, and religious studies. There are also broader implications for research in the health sciences, psychology, and biology.
Dr Newberg stated, "This Lectureship Program will greatly advance the field relating religion and spirituality to the human mind. This program provides an opportunity for leading scholars around the world and at the University of Pennsylvania to explore in more detail than ever before this relationship and bring these ideas to the general public."
Administering the 2005 Templeton Research Lectures initiative is William Grassie, executive director of the Metanexus Institute. Commenting on the significance of the lectures, Grassie notes, "The challenges of the 21st century require new interdisciplinary collaborations, which place questions of meanings and values on the agenda. We need to put questions about the universe and the universal back at the heart of the university."
Grassie, a sometime visiting lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, notes that Metanexus and the University of Pennsylvania have many informal connections. Metanexus was originally incorporated with four faculty members from the University of Pennsylvania. "Precisely because of this intimate history, Metanexus is particularly pleased to award this grant to this dynamic interdisciplinary committee for their important three year project."
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 lectures, workshops, research, courses, grants, and publications. Metanexus runs some 300 projects in 30 different countries. Projects include the Local Societies Initiative, the Templeton Research Lectures, the Spiritual Transformation Scientific Research Project, Spiritual Capital, Religion and Health, Religion and Human Flourishing, Foundational Questions in Physics and Cosmology, and other endeavors.
Metanexus hosts an online journal with over 140,000 monthly page views and 7000 regular subscribers in 57 different countries at www.metanexus.net.
The John Templeton Foundation supports global initiatives, which pursue new insights at the boundary between theology and science. Using the "humble approach," the Foundation embraces a rigorous, open-minded and empirically focused methodology, drawing together talented representatives from a wide spectrum of fields ranging from cosmology to healthcare. For more information about the Templeton Foundation, go to www.templeton.org.