THE conversation between science and religion is a vital one for the 21st century, and yet the potential for deeper engagement is hampered by the fact that most of the literature being produced is from a Western context, with an emphasis on the Christian religion.

This effectively ignores the wisdom and insights generated in many different contexts, cultures, and religions, including indigenous knowledge. How can we broaden the conversation in a way that does not implicitly prioritise Western culture?

Two recent initiatives have sought to develop such an inter-contextual approach. We hope that these can point to some principles for a fruitful and global science-and- religion relationship in the future.

The first initiative is Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science (ECLAS), which, for 15 years, has brought together senior church leaders, leading scientists, and theologians in respectful engagement. Our current focus is the question how context shapes engagement with science among Christian leaders; this includes geographical, cultural, theological, national, and political contexts. To this end, we work ecumenically with four partner institutions in Singapore, Kenya, Poland, and India.

Our intention is emphatically not to export a way of doing things which has worked in the UK. For example, the UK public are used to hearing the (long-debunked) narrative of conflict between science and religion. In Singapore, a multi-religious society, there is a strong political emphasis on societal harmony, and notions of conflict within or between religions tend to be avoided. So, simply reusing the counter-narratives and framings that work in the UK would be unhelpful in Singapore.

In the United States, deep political divisions mean that some topics in science and religion have become controversial “wedge issues”, which has a significant effect on how they are dealt with. This can be seen with issues such as climate change, evolution, and vaccination: churches that engage with these issues may be seen (rightly or wrongly) as political actors. Yet, in some African contexts, environmental issues, sustainable agriculture, and health care are central to daily life, and churches are active partners in conversation and practical action.

The context is different again in countries that have a non-Christian religious majority. In India, the relationship between science and religion is influenced by the current Hindu nationalist political climate, which poses challenges to religious minorities, including Christians.

THE challenge is bringing these different perspectives into meaningful conversations in which all can learn from one another, and no single context is presented as the norm or the default.

We recently held an international online retreat for senior Christian leaders on reading Genesis 1-3 in the context of science. We deliberately brought together speakers and participants from different contexts, not simply across the science-Church-academy spectrum, but also from six continents and a wide span of theological affiliations. This inter-contextual discussion resulted in a richer and more textured account of the deepest realities. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, then, our priority is to support and stimulate good science-religion engagement in other contexts, while building a community of conversation between us.

We are both closely involved, too, with the Anglican Communion Science Commission (ACSC), which was set up to implement the 2022 Lambeth Call on Science and Faith. Since the last Lambeth Conference, the ACSC has convened three regional gatherings to explore how contextual questions play out in different parts of the world, with explicit acknowledgement of the value of all knowledge systems.

Both initiatives offer a fruitful way forward for science-and-religion engagement, with three critical emphases: first, a genuine recognition of the impact of context and a real valuing of different perspectives, including indigenous knowledge systems; second, creating a community of conversation which both respects our differences and engages with the search for a deeper truth that is beyond the limits of any single context; and, third, an effective way of communicating the results of those conversations to Churches, education systems, and wider society.

THERE is evidence to suggest that young people around the world are interested in this kind of conversation. This is encouraging for the future of science-and-religion engagement. Our experience with ECLAS and the ACSC is that genuinely inter-contextual conversations can produce much deeper understandings of the nature of science and religion. This understanding is necessary to bringing forth fresh and helpful perspectives on the main issues of our world today, such as artificial intelligence and climate change.

There is still much to be done, but we hope that this model can break through the barriers that have held this conversation back in recent years, and point to a more inclusive and productive way forward.

The Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, a former Bishop of Kingston, is Co-Director for Global Engagement at ECLAS and member of the Anglican Communion Science Commission; and the Revd Dr Muthuraj Swamy is director of the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide and ECLAS Theological Facilitator and Researcher.