Between Science and Religion: The Engagement of Catholic Intellectuals with Science and Technology in the Twentieth Century

“In an age of uncertainty about the role of religion in science, Phillip Thompson provides a bright light and a bridge for understanding how these concepts can (and should) coexist. This book will interest anyone with a keen and inquiring mind; it is thoroughly researched, beautifully written, and will undoubtedly become the standard for understanding the intersection of science and faith.” –Aine Donovan, Dartmouth College

“Phillip Thompson has contributed a very important study of four Catholic intellectuals-Jacques Maritain, Teilhard de Chardin, Bernard Lonergan, and Thomas Merton-in an analysis of their efforts to develop a constructive dialogue of theology and science in the period between the Modernist crisis and Vatican II. Animated by John Paul II’s efforts to create a new kind of dialogue of ‘critical openness’ of Catholic theology to modern science and technology, this wide-ranging book both describes these historical engagements, and at the same time offers a valuable framework for further development of this dialogue. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the dialogue of science and religion.” –Phillip R. Sloan, University of Notre Dame

“In his clear-headed, thoughtful study, Thompson helps us to appreciate the complex dynamic between the Catholic Church and the forces of science. How did the Church move from condemnation to critical dialogue and become a defender of scientific research that is mindful of ethical limits and aware of its social obligations? His is an important contribution to intellectual history, a voice of critical moderation in a field in which extreme rhetoric too often prevails.” –Jean Bethke Elshtain, The Laura Spelman Rockeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, University of Chicago; author of Just War Against Terror