ESSSAT Prizes 2022, Press Release (25.02.2022)

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The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) is pleased to announce that the ESSSAT Research Prize 2022 has been awarded to Dr Mateusz Jarmuzewski, for his PhD thesis “Neurobiology and the free Will. Implications for catholic theological ethics”, that earned him in 2021 the doctorate at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). Mateusz Jarmuzewski is currently teaching theology and philosophy of life at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle (The Netherlands). His thesis deals with a question which is located in the center of the dialogue between science and religion: What are the consequences of scientific findings on agency, free will, determinism and alternative possibilities for moral theology? The study argues that in light of empirical findings, virtue theory is philosophically preferable, as it presents free will as the ability to influence future actions by building up agential dispositions. The research prize jury appreciated the extensive knowledge of the scientific arguments, the comprehensiveness and originality of the study and its clear way of relating scientific findings to a theologically relevant ethics and anthropology. The prize consists of €2500, and the conference fee for the next European Conference on Science and Theology. This conference is to be held in Ålesund, Norway, 4‐8 May 2022, where the prizes will be presented to the winners.  

 

The ESSSAT Student Prize 2022 has been awarded to Dr Tim Middleton, PhD student in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and Research Assistant at the Laudato Si’ Research Institute, Campion Hall, Oxford, for his essay “Christology and the Temporal Trauma of the Anthropocene”. In his essay, Middleton suggests that the irreversible scarring of our current Anthropocene epoch constitutes a temporal trauma for the earth. He proposes that a consideration of Christ’s role in deep time might be fruitful for articulating Christian theology’s response to its ongoing and unavoidable repercussions. Christ’s permanently scarred body then bears witness to our permanently scarred earth. The student prize jury found this essay of highest quality and originality and most relevant in our time. The ESSSAT Student Prize 2022 consists of €1500, and again the conference fee for the next ESSSAT Conference will be covered, to be held in Norway in Spring 2022. ESSSAT, the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, usually organizes a conference every other year.

 

The 2022 prizes will be presented at the Nineteenth European Conference on Science and Theology, which will be held in Ålesund, Norway, 4‐8 May 2022. The theme of the conference is “Global Sustainability: Science and Religion in Dialogue”. Participants and contributors include scientists, theologians, scholars of religion, philosophers, and historians, with scholars from a range of religious and non‐religious persuasions. Almost all European countries are represented, alongside other continents.  

 

Additional Information: www.ESSSAT.net;

 

ESSSAT Prizes, Dr. Andreas Losch responsible: andreas.losch@uzh.ch

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On Mateusz Jarmuzewski and his work contact: m.jarmuzewski@windesheim.nl

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To contact Tim Middleton: tim.middleton@theology.ox.ac.uk

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ESSSAT Prizes 2020, Press Release (21.03.2020)

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The European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT) is pleased to announce that the ESSSAT Research Prize 2020 has been awarded to Dr Indrek Peedu, for his PhD thesis “Positioning the Scholar: Issues of Epistemology and Methodology in the Evolutionary Study of Religion”, submitted 2019 at the University of Tartu (Estonia).

 

Indrek Peedu is currently a specialist in the Theory of Religious Studies at the School of Theology and Religious Studies within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Tartu. His thesis skillfully identifies and explores some of the main weakness that can afflict scientific approaches to the study of religion, in terms of their epistemological construction: to what extent can a scholar of religion remain a neutral, scientific observer or to what extent is he or she an inevitable part of the cultural and religious context of the field of research itself as well? The argument is both penetrating and concise in its attention to the cognitive, ecological, and biocultural research programs under study, and judicious in its commitment to letting the perspectives discussed speak to one another, while also pointing to blind spots. The jury appreciated the clarity of exposition, the soundness of the argument, and the rich erudition and knowledge displayed by the author. The prize consists of €2500, and the conference fee for the next European Conference on Science and Theology will be covered. This is to be held in Madrid, Spain, but is presently postponed to Spring 2021, where the prizes will be presented to the winners.

 

The ESSSAT Student Prize 2020 has been awarded to Duvan Hernán López Meneses, a PhD student in Sustainability at the Polytechnic University of Cataluña (UPC), for his essay “Los riesgos climáticos y el sentido humano: Claves frente a los conflictos ambientales desde el pensamiento de Teilhard de Chardin” (Climate risks and the human meaning: Key insights facing environmental conflicts from the thought of Teilhard de Chardin). In his essay, López offers a consistently insightful and engaging discussion and analysis of natural disasters such as climate change, in relation to themes of human responsibility, considering, for instance, risk assessment theories and certain twentieth century theological developments, especially from the work of Teilhard de Chardin. The jury found this piece most relevant and original in its development and conclusions. The ESSSAT Student Prize 2020 consists of €1500, and again the conference fee for the next ESSSAT Conference will be covered, to be held in Spain in Spring 2021.

 

ESSSAT, the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, usually organizes a conference every other year. The 2020 prizes are sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry (Princeton, NJ, USA), with support of the John Templeton foundation. They will be presented at the Eighteenth European Conference on Science and Theology, which will be held in Madrid, Spain, postponed to Spring 2021. The theme of the conference is “Creative pluralism? Images and models in science and religion”. Participants and contributors include scientists, theologians, scholars of religion, philosophers, and historians, with scholars from a range of religious and non-religious persuasions. Almost all European countries are represented, alongside other continents.

 

Additional Information: www.ESSSAT.net;

 

ESSSAT Prizes, Dr. Andreas Losch responsible: andreaslosch@web.de

 

On Indrek Peedu and his work contact: ipeedu@gmail.com

 

To contact Duvan Hernán López Meneses: duvan.hernan.lopez@upc.edu

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ESSSAT Prizes 2018, Press Release (28.03.2018)

 

The ESSSAT Research Prize 2018 has been awarded to Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie for her PhD thesis “With God in Mind: Divine Action and the Naturalisation of Consciousness”, submitted 2017 at the University of Edinburgh.

 

Sarah Lane Ritchie is the first person ever to win both the ESSSAT Student Prize (in 2016) and the ESSSAT Research Prize (now). She is currently Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theology & Science at St. Mary’s College, School of Divinity, University of St. Andrews. Her thesis offers a fine analysis of the recent debate about divine intervention in the world, to show the main limits or problems that afflict the standard attempts to describe such action. She proposes a distinct theological model, ‘theistic naturalism’, to reframe the question at stake, opening alternative ways to understand God’s action, respecting scientific worldviews and recognising fresh theological insights. The jury appreciated especially her excellent exercise in interdisciplinary dialogue that renders justice to a theology paying attention to scientific developments. Thus, the jury chose this book as winner of the ESSSAT Research Prize. The Prize consists of 2000 euro, as well as coverage of travel to and participation in the next European Conference on Science and Theology, to be held in Lyon, France, April 17-22, 2018, where the winners of the prizes will be presented.

 

As another first timer, there also has been an Honourable Mention in the ESSSAT Research Prize Category. ESSSAT is honouring the contribution of Jaeho Jang on “The Doctrine of Theodicy in a Scientific Age: Examining the Evolutionary Theology of John Haught and the Daoist Philosophy of Zhuangzi”. The aim of Jang’s study is to develop Christian theodicies to inform both the West and the East in an age of science. He proposes steps for comparative work between religion and science and between Christianity and Daoism, which he calls description, comparison, generalisation, differentiation and supplementation. Based on this methodology, Jaeho generalises the ideas of Haught and Zhuangzi on evil into different theodicies and supplements the evolutionary theodicy of Haught with the Daoist ideas of Zhuangzi. The work convinced the Jury that Western evolutionary theodicies would benefit much from engagement with Asian Christian contexts, which is a very relevant thought in a globalized religious world. Jang completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2017 and is now a chaplain and lecturer at Myongji University, Seoul, South Korea.

 

The ESSSAT Student Prize 2018 has been awarded to Joanna Leidenhag, student at the University of Edinburgh, for her essay “The Revival of Panpsychism and its Relevance for the Science-Religion Dialogue”. Joanna Leidenhag is both a PhD candidate in Systematic Theology at Edinburgh and a candidate for ordination at the Scottish Episcopal Institute. In her essay, Leidenhag beautifully demonstrates the relevance of panpsychism for the doctrine of creation, focussing on the science and religion context. Leidenhag views panpsychism as a metaphysical hypothesis, and as such compatible with the principles and provisional conclusions of the sciences critical to this matter, namely evolutionary biology and quantum physics. Her well formulated argument is only that panpsychism is compatible and can be seen to find some limited, but significant, areas of resonance or traction with the natural sciences. The jury unanimously nominated Leidenhag’s most elegant and insightful paper as the winner. The ESSSAT Student Prize 2018 consists of 1000 euro and free travel to and participation in the ESSSAT Conference in France later this year.

 

It is remarkable that all three winners pursued their studies within the Science and Religion program at the university of Edinburgh. There were also of course fine contributions from other institutions as well. Location is a criterion for the ESSSAT prizes only in as far as the contributions must be based on research done in Europe. Besides, the competition has been especially fierce this year and the quality of the submissions very high, a number of them having already received offers of publication. ESSSAT, the European Society for the Study of Science And Theology, organizes a conference every other year.

 

The 2018 prizes will be presented at the Seventeenth European Conference on Science and Theology, which will be held in Lyon, France, April 17th – 22th, 2018. The theme of the 2018 conference is Nature and Beyond: Transcendence and Immanence in Science and Religion. Participants and contributors are scientists, theologians, scholars of religion, philosophers, historians and other scholars from different religious and non-religious persuasions, from almost all European countries as well as from other continents.

 

Additional Information: www.ESSSAT.eu;

 

ESSSAT Prizes, Dr. Andreas Losch responsible: andreas.losch@theol.unibe.ch

 

On Sarah Lane Ritchie and her work contact: slr21@st-andrews.ac.uk

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On Jaeho Jang and his work: jaehoc21@gmail.com

 

To contact Joanna Leidenhag: joannaleidenhag@gmail.com