The Foundation for Islamic Cultures and Religious Tolerance sponsors a meeting on the dialogue and interrelationship between science and religion

After three days of intense and constructive debate during the meeting 'From the temple to the laboratory. Multidisciplinary dialogue between science and religion', experts from the humanities and scientific disciplines agreed on the need for dialogue between science and religion as a path to common understanding. The central theme of the experts' reflections has been the defence of a multidisciplinary approach as a way of dealing with understanding and dialogue between the two ways of understanding the world.

This virtual conference, sponsored by the Foundation for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance (FICRT) and organised by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Spanish Association for the Advancement of Science (AEAC) in collaboration with the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP), has brought together virtually from 29 September to 1 October leading experts from various areas of knowledge for a broad debate from very different disciplines that address the relationship between science and religion.

During the inauguration of the virtual conference, Obdulia Taboadela, Director of the UIMP's headquarters in Galicia, referred to online courses as a way of working that must be faced from "the hope, work and hope that this new form of communication does not reduce the dissemination of knowledge". Following his speech, María Ángeles Gallego and Jesús Rey Rocha, researchers from CSIC and directors of the course, and Juma al-Kaabi, director general of FICRT, took part, pointing out "the importance of the values of tolerance and of joining forces to preserve the values common to all human beings".

During the first day, Professor Agustín Udías, a Jesuit and Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the Complutense University of Madrid, pointed out the differences and, above all, the complementarity of science and religion: "religion must be enlightened by science and science must be driven by religious feeling".

The rest of the first day was structured around two sessions. The first, on the dialogue between science and religion through history in the monotheistic tradition, featured speeches by Mariano Gómez Aranda, researcher at the CSIC; Eduardo Peláez López, graduate in Theology and Physics and Doctor of Philosophy; Samuel Bengio, President of the Yad Vashem Spain Association and former President of the Jewish Community of Madrid; and Maysoun Douas, Doctor of Physical Sciences and Councillor for "Más Madrid" at Madrid City Council. 

These last three speakers took part, not only because of their background and career, but also as voices of the three great monotheistic traditions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - and from a desire for dialogue. As Maysoun Douas pointed out, "if there is one thing that characterises Muslim scientists from others, it is the ideal of open science", a dialogue that was extended to each historical period through Samuel Bengio's invitation to "understand that each text has a specific moment".  

Three fundamental questions were then addressed: who are we? where do we come from? where are we going? On this occasion, María Ángeles Gallego intervened with a talk in which she observed the connections between the birth of linguistic studies and religious traditions. Her presentation was followed by a panel made up of Mariano Gómez, Jesús Rey and Agustín Udías. In this dialogue, Jesús Rey stressed the need for "greater transdisciplinarity between scientific and religious disciplines".

The second day, held on Wednesday 30 September, focused on science, technology, religion and post-humanism: 'From Jerusalem to Silicon Valley'. After the presentation by Delfina Serrano, the meeting's secretary, who introduced the concept and implications of Islamic bioethics, Rafael Heiber moderated a round table consisting of Xandra Garzón, Emilio Muñoz and Concepción Roldán. The speakers discussed the notion of religion in post-modernity and its encounter with science, from the common search for a "united discourse among people who are working in the field of science, in its broadest sense, and also religions", as Emilio Muñoz emphasised. 

Later, Rafael Heiber spoke in greater depth about 'Science-Religion: In(certainties) in the 21st century'; Konstantinos Argyriou and Jesús Rey chaired the round table on 'Science and post-modern religions' and 'Power relations between science and religion'. 

In the midst of the debate on science and religion, Eduardo Peláez spoke of "two windows that look at man in a different way" and Concepción Robles wanted to remind all those present of "our own relationship as scholars and scientists, with the society around us and with citizens".

This Thursday 1st October, the last day of the course, after the presentation of Margarita Hernández Laílle's talk on 'Darwinism and religion in the 19th century' - in which she also tackled the challenges of scientific learning for education today - a round table was held that questioned the existence of a dialogue between science and religion. In response to this question, Eduardo Peláez emphasised the importance of this type of forum which constitutes "bridges of dialogue". For her part, Delfina Serrano, secretary of the meeting, pointed out the need to recognise the contribution of religion "we want to make the contribution of science to improve our lives in this world".

To conclude, during the closing of the meeting on Thursday, the course director, Jesús Rey, wanted to acknowledge "a series of tributaries that have made this river go where it has", and in particular, the course director, María Ángeles Gallego, underlined her gratitude to the sponsorship of the Foundation for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance, for "having believed in our idea" and for promptly and enthusiastically accepting "a proposal that was drawn up with our own ideas and methodology". The meeting was closed with the words of Alfred G. Kavanagh, president of FICRT: "The way to achieve peace in the civil societies of the 21st century is through knowledge and dialogue", in the temple and in the laboratory. 

The Foundation for Islamic Culture and Religious Tolerance (FICRT) is a nationwide Spanish foundation, created in 2017. In accordance with its statutory aims, its main objectives are to carry out activities to strengthen the values linked to religious tolerance between people of different beliefs and ethnic groups, contributing to fraternity and the dissemination of Islamic culture and civilisation, as well as the Arabic language. To achieve these goals, the Foundation develops conferences, lectures and cultural programmes, studies and publications, meetings and exhibitions, with the aim of achieving sustainable tolerance and cultural coexistence through cooperation and respect for cultural diversity.