ECLAS LAUNCHES NEW INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

We are thrilled to announce that, funded by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, ECLAS is entering into new, international partnerships to form an innovative, global community of research and practice. This is the first time that such a project in science and theology has broken out of its Western confines to take seriously the different national and cultural contexts that Church leaders work in.

Over the next four years, we will build on our past decade of work through the creation of research hubs with ecumenical partners as we support Christian leaders to engage with science in their own regional and theological contexts. Our partners are:

• St Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya
• Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland
• Singapore Bible College, Singapore
• United Theological College, Bangalore, India

Speaking about the partnerships, Prof. Rev. Dr. Chilkuri Vasantha Rao, Principal and CEO of United Theological College, said, ‘We feel that here comes a greater input to extend our theoretical learning into a more practical engagement.’

Associate Professor of Theology at St Paul’s University, The Revd Prof Diphus Chemorion said, ‘We look forward to having a platform where scientists and theologians are brought into conversation to hear the various perspectives, what is common among them, what are the misunderstandings and how can they move forward together.’

Focused on local scholars and institutions, ECLAS partner hubs will serve as centres for theological and sociological research into how Church leaders view science, and how stories and narratives in different contexts shape the way that they relate science to theology. The hubs will explore the impact of cultural, historical, theological, denominational, geographical and national contexts on shaping the narrative surrounding science and its relationship with faith. Strategic collaboration with academic institutions worldwide will anchor the research in local perspectives and practices whilst maintaining communication with the broader Church and society.

Each partner in ECLAS will receive funds to distribute as awards for regional Scientists in Congregations and Science for Seminaries programmes. They will run and monitor their own programmes and research, in partnership with ECLAS, to address local issues and create culture change at every level of the Church. We will reflect together on what the opportunities and challenges are in different contexts.

Project Director the Revd Prof David Wilkinson says, ‘Our vision is not to export a UK model to different parts of the world, but to partner with international institutions of higher education to form a global community of enquiry and practice so that we can understand both the opportunities and challenges that context gives to equipping Christian leadership in an age of science. As we learn about different contexts, we’ll learn even more about the limitations and insights of our own context.’

We will be working in close liaison with the Anglican Communion Science Commission, which seeks to help churches across the Anglican Communion to engage with the Lambeth Call on Science and Faith from the Lambeth Conference 2022.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be sharing more about the work of our new hub partners on our website. To learn more about this exciting new phase of ECLAS and watch messages from our hub leaders, please visit the Hubs page here. The Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham’s reflections on this international cooperation can be found here. For further information, please contact ECLAS on eclas.admin@durham.ac.uk