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Image: A Cranmer student interacting with a robot at an AI and Robotics Study Day in 2022

We have awarded grants to four theological colleges under our Science for Seminaries programme.

Over the next year, we will be working with the seminaries to introduce science engagement into their theological training and education.

This is the third round of our successful Science for Seminaries programme, which works to equip ministers to respond to both daily questions and big issues about science and faith.

Our grant recipients for the 2024-25 academic year are:

• Birmingham Christian College
• Coleg y Bedyddwyr Caerdydd/Cardiff Baptist College
• Regent’s Park College Oxford
• Trinity College Dublin.

We are delighted that Baptist colleges are taking part in the programme for the first time.

Each college will adopt a different approach to engaging with science in their core theological studies.

Regent’s Park College Oxford will connect students with a heritage of science-engagement by key Baptist figures, leading classes and producing resources for a wider community. Birmingham Christian College will bring rigorous engagement with science and scientists into their module on Environmental Stewardship. Cardiff Baptist College will run activities including a campus-wide ‘befriend a scientist’ shadowing programme. Trinity College Dublin will bring working scientists into their discussion of hermeneutics and cosmology to examine scientific discovery and interpretation.

Each college has been awarded up to £60,000 towards their projects. ECLAS and the current round of Science for Seminaries are generously supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

ECLAS Director Revd Prof David Wilkinson said:

“The aim of Science for Seminaries is to embed science within the mainstream theological curriculum, rather than as an optional extra for those who are already passionate about it. We have supported this already in a large number of theological colleges and courses in the UK and Ireland, and this new cohort have exciting plans to extend this work even further.”

 

Rev. William Kugbeadjor, Principal of Birmingham Christian College, said:

“Our project involves integrating rigorous ecological insights into the compulsory Environmental Stewardship module, empowering church leaders to provide a Christian response to environmental issues and take meaningful actions to address these issues within their congregations and communities.

“We believe that scientific engagement for seminarians not only results in a more holistic and enriched educational experience, but also equips them with the knowledge required to confidently lead and address scientific questions raised by their congregations and the wider community.”

 

Rosa Hunt and Ed Kaneen, the co-principals at Coleg y Bedyddwyr Caerdydd /Cardiff Baptist College, said:

“We both have backgrounds in science, and we are both so grateful for the perspective and richness that this background has brought to our faith.

“Understanding even a little about how science and scientists work has helped us bring an epistemological awareness and a lack of fear to the table when engaging with scientific matters as people of faith.

“We are so eager to see our students leave College with a similar confidence in and enthusiasm for science and what it can contribute – as well as a more grounded understanding of where its limits lie. We are delighted that we have received this grant, which will enable us to start doing this by running a core module in science and religion, and running campus-wide events.”

 

The Principal of Regent’s Park College Oxford, Professor Sir Malcolm Evans, said:

“I am absolutely delighted that Science for Seminaries will be supporting our project on ‘Science and Religion in the Baptist World’. Our ministerial students will benefit hugely from greater exposure to the wealth of local scientific expertise that is available here in Oxford, and we look forward to showcasing the scientific lives of some key Baptist figures via the resources of our Angus Library.

“Regent’s Park College is excited to be one of the first Baptist colleges in the UK to receive funding from Science for Seminaries, and we look forward to contributing to wider Baptist engagement with scientific concerns.”

 

The Head of the School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies, Prof Gillian Wylie and the Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, Dr Maurice Elliott, at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, said:

“We are delighted to have been selected for this Science for Seminaries funding award. Our project, led by Prof Cathriona Russell, aims to enrich the current initiatives in teaching theology in an age of science through integrated teaching on novel, original and creative developments in the sciences in tandem with practicing empirical scientists, on our Masters Programs in ministry, and in theology and religion in the humanities.”