A Global Lab: Religion among Scientists in International Context

Please join the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University for a conference on the largest multi-national study to date of scientists’ attitudes towards religion: the Religion among Scientists in International Context (RASIC) study.

In brief, RASIC examines how scientists in different national contexts understand ethics, religion, gender, and family life. It includes a cross-national survey of 20,000 biologists and physicists at different points in their careers at top universities and research institutes in France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The project also includes follow-up qualitative interviews with610 of these scientists. In order to start a robust conversation surrounding the implications of our data, we are gathering a mix of scholars, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the broader conversation on religion and science.

The conference will be held on Thursday, December 3rd on Rice University’s campus, beginning at 5:30pm in Auditorium 103 of the BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC). It will take the format of a large plenary session with a panel of subject-matter experts (5:30-7:30pm, Auditorium 103), followed by two breakout sessions (“Tales from the Field,” 7:30-8:30pm, Room 286 and “New Perspectives and Places in the Religion and Science Dialogue,” 7:30-8:30pm, Room 280), and will conclude with a reception. Panelists will include Alper Bilgili, Suleyman Sah University; Helen Rose Ebaugh, University of Houston; Steven Lewis, Rice University; Kirstin Matthews, Rice University; Chantal Saint-Blancat, University of Padova; David Voas, University of Essex; and Fenggang Yang, Purdue University. All portions of the event are open to the public. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit https://globallabconference.eventbrite.com.