Kansas City Religion and Science Dialogue Project
Second Presbyterian Church
Kansas City, Missouri
This Local Society draws its participants from among the members and staff of the Second Presbyterian Church, which is the group’s host institution, as well as from the faculty, staff, and students of Rockhurst University, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Saint Paul School of Theology, and the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology. Plans include increasing outreach efforts to promote further diversification of membership and invite a broader community of interested, educated laypersons, by means of open public lectures, informal discussions, workshops, conferences, and the development of a website. Group activities cover topics such as cloning, cosmology, the Human Genome Project, creation-evolution debate, and genetically modified food–a “topic of special local significance, given the area’s agricultural base.” According to the group leaders, the Dialogue Project “wishes to promote and contribute to the important and interesting dialogue and debate that has emerged in the past several years on the relationship between science and religion.” The goal includes bringing together “religious and scientific leaders in a spirit of mutual respect, dialogue, and humility, so that they may become more informed on key issues in the debate.” Matching funds are provided by Second Presbyterian Church.