Religion in a World of Science

In connection with the Killeen series theme, “Science and Religion” Dr. Gutting will elaborate a philosophically grounded rationale for maintaining religious belief in a world of science. His talk, “Religion in a World of Science” will scrutinize the basic claim—that science leaves no rational room for belief in God—made by Richard Dawkins and the “New Atheists.” He argues that their accusation that theism lacks evidence misunderstands the significance of philosophical arguments for God’s existence. He will offer a way forward by providing theists with a strategy against two arguments commonly deployed by atheists: the argument from evil and the evolutionary argument. Dr. Gutting will also examine reasons religious philosophers give for their personal belief, and will conclude that there can be good reasons to accept a religion as both a way of living and a way of understanding the world, even if we cannot have a basis for believing that God actually exists as a power that affects what happens in the world