Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Science and Religion (MacMillan Reference USA)

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When I was asked to contribute to this Encyclopedia (I wrote the "annotated bibliography", the lemma on "determinism", and co-authored the lemma on "chaos theory"), I had no idea what it would eventually look like. It was undoubtedly an ambitious project, and the editors were aware that there was no such encyclopedia available yet. This project was a venture, to be sure.

It turned out to be an achievement that, I hope, will last for decades! If you are interested in the field of science & religion, then this encyclopedia is simply the best place to start.

All contributions are written by leading experts in the field, and that means that you find not only contributions by theologians and historians, but also contributions by many scientists, such as (to name but a few) Francisco Ayala, John Barrow, Terrence Deacon, Max Jammer, Simon Conway Morris, and Ian Tattersall. The contributions are cross-referenced, and are written with exceptional clarity. One can browse these two volumes for hours...

Most lemmas also contain a small bibliography, so that once you are familiarized with the main ideas, you are handed the tools to dig deeper into the subject yourself.

I know of no reference works in the field of religion & science that cover so much ground as this two-volume encyclopedia.

If you are willing to invest some time (yes, be prepared to become addicted to ideas) and money into this encyclopedia, you will not be disappointed. Otherwise, try to convince your librarian to buy a copy for your local library. However, in that case, start saving money already, because I am sure once you've seen the encyclopedia, you will want a copy for yourself...

Haven't actually seen this but just want to point out that the article on atheism is written by John F. Haught, Senior Fellow, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University, formerly professor of theology at Georgetown (A Jesuit University). Why do I suspect that the topic will receive a somewhat less than sympathetic treatment? What does this say about the treatment of other subjects?