The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

How might science remain central to human knowledge and culture while also remaining open to spiritual flourishing?

Join The Faraday Institute’s Science as a Contemplative Activity Research Hub for Rethinking the Scientific Culture and Shared Sacred Flourishing, a panel exploring the future of scientific culture through theology, philosophy, immunology, and interreligious dialogue.

4 June 2026 | 12:00–14:00
Online and in person at Westminster College, Cambridge
Speakers include David Bentley Hart, Katharina Patommel, Nicholas Spencer, and William Vendley.

Free event, co-sponsored by The Fetzer Institute and The Faraday Institute.

Register here: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/rethinking-the-scientific-culture-and-shared-sacred-flourishing

Is evolution inevitable — or remarkably improbable?

On 2 June at 1pm, join Prof. Peter Jeavons for a fascinating seminar exploring the idea of fine tuning in both cosmology and biology.

Using insights from computer simulations and evolutionary models, Prof. Jeavons will discuss whether the emergence of life and complexity depends on highly precise laws and initial conditions — and what this might mean for wider philosophical and scientific questions.

📅 Tuesday, 2 June 2026
🕐 1:00–2:00pm
📍 Online + Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College

All are welcome.

Register here: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-peter-jeavons-evolution-inevitable-or-remarkable/

Join us on Tuesday 19 May, 1–2pm, for a seminar with Prof. David Lahti: How Far Can Good Go Without God? The Limits of a Naturalistic Ethic.

Prof. Lahti will explore whether a naturalistic account of human origins can fully ground our deepest intuitions about goodness, purpose, and moral reality.

The seminar will take place online and in person at the Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College, Cambridge. A light sandwich lunch will be provided from 12:30pm; please be seated by 12:50pm.

Join us on Tuesday, 19 May, 1–2pm, for a seminar with Prof. David Lahti: How Far Can Good Go Without God? The Limits of a Naturalistic Ethic.

Registration closes 15 May for the Faraday Institute Summer Course 2026

📅 Monday 6 – Friday 10 July 2026
📍 Hughes Hall, Cambridge & Online

Join us for a week exploring Science, Religion, and Society with leading scholars and practitioners engaging topics such as:

• Artificial Intelligence and human flourishing
• Technology, culture, and public life
• Environment and health
• Mind, freedom, and ethics

Featuring speakers including Prof. Amanda Rees, Prof. Brandon Vaidyanathan, Revd Dr Gillian Straine, Dr Michael Burdett, Dr Hannah Waite, and many others.

Whether attending in Cambridge or online, participants will engage in rigorous and accessible discussions on some of today’s most pressing questions.

In-person delegates will also enjoy opportunities for conversation, networking, and activities around Cambridge.

📝 Registration closes: 15 May 2026
🔗 https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/faraday-institute-summer-course-2026-science-religion-and-society/

Join us for a public lecture by Revd Prof. Michael J Reiss:

The Importance of Teaching about Science and Religion in a Time of Global Uncertainty

📅 Thursday 7 May 2026
🕕 6:00–7:00pm
📍 Queen’s Building Lecture Theatre, Emmanuel College, Cambridge

In this lecture, Prof. Reiss will explore how teaching about science and religion can help young people engage more deeply with questions of truth and goodness in an age often described as “post-truth.”

While the live event is open to in-person attendees only, a recording will be published shortly afterwards on our website.

Book at https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-michael-reiss-the-importance-of-teaching-about-science-and-religion-in-a-time-of-global-uncertainty/

Held in partnership with Christians in Science.

How should we think about the relationship between science and God?

On 5 May 2026, Prof. Sverre Holm will explore this question in a seminar titled “The Imagined Conflict: On Science and God.” Challenging the widespread assumption of conflict, the lecture will consider how the history of science often points instead to complementarity, wonder, and deeper reflection on creation.

📅 Tuesday 5 May 2026
🕐 1:00–2:00pm
📍 Online and in person, Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College

Lunch will be provided from 12:30pm. Please arrive in good time and be seated by 12:50pm.

Book at https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-sverre-holm-the-imagined-conflict-on-science-and-god/

Over the past few weeks, our Tutorial Programme Director, Dr Pui Him Ip, has been in Hong Kong meeting with our partners from HKU Medicine and alumni of the Faraday Tutorial Course. It has been a joy to catch up with them and hear about all they have achieved since their time in Cambridge.

Many spoke about how their year abroad inspired them and helped shape them as both individuals and medical professionals. We are so proud of them and all they have gone on to accomplish.

We hope to welcome them back to Cambridge in the future, as they will always be part of our Institute community.

🔗To learn more about this study abroad opportunity, visit our website:
https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/courses/tutorial/
📧Or contact us directly at [email protected]

Ip Pui Him