Heaven & Earth
Mormonism and the Challenges of Science, Revelation and Faith
February 22nd – 23rd, 2018
Classroom Building, Room 511
Utah Valley University
Program PDF here; conference website here.
The relationship between science and religion has been among the most fiercely debated issues since the Copernican revolution displaced traditional wisdom regarding the nature of the cosmos. Some have argued for a sharp division of labor while others have sought to harmonize spiritual and empirical truths. From its beginnings, Mormonism has wrestled with the implications of modern science and has produced a variety of theological responses. This conference will explore the landscape of Mormon thought as it relates to the relationships between science, theology, scriptural narratives, and LDS authoritative discourse. It will also examine abiding questions of faith, reason, and doubt and the reactions against the intellectualizing forces that bear on the truth claims of Mormonism.
Keynote speaker Molly Worthen, Assistant Professor of History at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, author of Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism and contributing writer for the New York Times, will speak on “Faith Seeking Understanding: The Evangelical Experience, and Mormon Connections.” Friday, 2/23 at 10:00 AM.
The Eugene England Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Steven L. Peck, Associate Professor of Biology, Brigham Young University and author of Science the Key to Theology and Evolving Faith: Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist. Lecture titled “Mormonism, Evolution, and Science: A Cosmos of Unfolding Beauty and Novelty.” Thursday, 2/22 at 1:00 pm.
Speakers include:
Philip L. Barlow
Brian D. Birch
David Bokovoy
Matthew Bowman
Deidre N. Green
Jamie L. Jensen
Steven L. Peck
Boyd Jay Petersen
Jana K. Riess
David W. Scott
Benjamin Spackman
Molly Worthen
For more information, contact Brian Birch at [email protected] or Boyd Petersen at [email protected].