Center for Cooperative Phenomena
Department of Physics
University of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, Missouri
This initiative joins a core membership of local leaders in religion and the sciences in a spirit of mutual understanding and humility to raise the level of scientific understanding in religious communities and increase cooperation between academic fields. To encourage a greater appreciation of the spiritual significance of science, the group hosts monthly exploratory meetings to discuss issues or relevant books. Outreach efforts aim to expand the membership by inviting faculty and students in religion, philosophy, and the sciences from area colleges, professionals in the surrounding community, and members of area religious congregations, as well as members of the general public. The group also seeks to fulfill the obligation of higher education to provide critical insight for the community by specifically including questions of intelligent design and other science and religion issues that arise in the socio-political debates of our time. Extensive publicity, open symposia on controversial issues, a website, and the development of a library further promote outreach in the wider community. The group also plans to pursue additional funding resources in order to extend the viability of the Forum beyond the three-year period. Matching funds are provided by Central Missouri State University.