The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

28/09/2026

How did we come to think of the past as something that shapes the present?

Join us on Tuesday 6 October for a seminar with Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, Associate Professor of History at Australian Catholic University. Sarah’s work explores where theology, natural philosophy and historical writing meet. Her award-winning books include Natural Science and the Origins of the British Empire and Priests of History.
She was awarded her BA from the University of Sydney, and her PhD in History from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Commonwealth Scholar at King’s College. She then held a Junior Research Fellowship at Wolfson College, Oxford.

In “The Origins of the Modern Concept of the Historical Era”, Sarah will explore how Scottish Enlightenment historian William Robertson drew on ideas from natural philosophy to explain historical change—and what that meant for his understanding of divine providence.

📅 Tuesday 6 October 2026, 1–2 pm
📍 Shasha Suite, Westminster College, Cambridge, and online
🥪 Light sandwich lunch from 12:30 pm; please be seated by 12:50 pm

Event details: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/dr-sarah-irving-stonebreaker-the-origins-of-the-modern-concept-of-the-historical-era/

Australian Catholic University (ACU) University of Sydney University of Cambridge

25/09/2026

How can ecumenical and interfaith dialogue respond to a world facing multiple and overlapping crises?

This week, the Cambridge Theological Federation brought together scholars, practitioners and communities for Ecumenism and Interfaith in Global Crisis: Challenge and Hope.

Across the conference, we heard high-quality research and lively discussions exploring the challenges facing interfaith and ecumenical relationships today, while also asking where hope can be found and how dialogue, scholarship and collaboration can contribute to it.

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is a proud member of the Cambridge Theological Federation, and we were delighted to be part of these conversations.

Alongside participating in the conference, we presented four academic posters showcasing a variety of Faraday projects. Together, they offered a glimpse into the richness of research and activities taking place across the Institute and created opportunities to share our work and start new conversations with colleagues from across the Federation.

Thank you to everyone involved in creating such a stimulating and thought-provoking conference.

23/09/2026

What does it mean to learn through making?

As we conclude Week 3 of our Introduction to Science and Religion tutorial programme, our Medical Humanities module is bringing science, theology and philosophy into conversation. In Visual Arts and Healing, students have taken these questions into the studio.

Working with limited materials, their hands and imaginations, we have slowed down to notice what we see, consider our choices and create (and recreate) images that carry meaning. The process offers a way to explore embodied knowledge: how thinking, making and remembering involve the body.

We are also looking closely at what research says about art, wellbeing, the brain and cognition. And we are asking harder questions. Does healing mean returning to how we were before? Is there ever such a point in a human life? What place do pain and decline have in a Christian account of people created in the image of God?

The studio gives us space to sit with these questions as we make, reflect and share ideas together.

15/09/2026

📣 Coming up next week: How (not) to use science in the pulpit

Our new online course, Equipped for Ministry: Science and the Life of the Church, begins on Monday 21 September!

In our first session, Revd Dr Jonathan Jong will explore how scientific research can be used fruitfully in preaching. What can insights from science tell us about the world, ourselves and our communities—and how might they enrich our preaching? Just as importantly, what pitfalls should we avoid?

Meet our speaker

Jonathan Jong is an experimental psychologist whose research focuses primarily on the psychology of religion and the philosophical questions raised by the scientific study of religion. He is an Assistant Professor at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, and holds associate roles at the University of Oxford.

Jonathan is the author of Experimenting with Religion(OUP, 2023) and co-author of Death Anxiety and Religious Belief (Bloomsbury, 2016), as well as the editor of the Cambridge University Press series Elements in Psychology of Religion.

Alongside his academic work, Jonathan is an ordained minister and, since 2021, Rector of the Benefice of Cocking with West Lavington, Bepton, and Heyshott in the Diocese of Chichester.

Bringing together experience from both scientific research and church ministry, Jonathan is ideally placed to open our series with a practical exploration of science in the pulpit.

📅 Monday 21 September 2026
⏰ 7.30–9.30pm
💻 Online

Join us for an evening of learning, discussion and practical ideas for ministry.
https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/equipped-for-ministry/

11/09/2026

📚 What shaped our modern understanding of a historical “era”?

Join us on 6 October at 1pm for a seminar with Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker exploring The Origins of the Modern Concept of the Historical Era: Natural Philosophy, Theology, and the Scottish Enlightenment.

Dr Irving-Stonebraker will examine how eighteenth-century historian William Robertson reconceived historical eras as more than chronological periods: as distinctive phases whose processes actively shaped what followed.

Drawing together history, natural philosophy and theology, the seminar will explore Robertson’s understanding of historical causation and divine providence—and his striking alternative to David Hume’s secular historiography.

📅 6 October 2026, 1–2pm
📍 Shasha Suite, Woolf Building, Westminster College, Cambridge + online
🥪 Light sandwich lunch from 12:30pm

Register at https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/dr-sarah-irving-stonebreaker-the-origins-of-the-modern-concept-of-the-historical-era/

03/09/2026

📢 New publication: AI Guidelines for Christian Ministry

How should churches and Christian organisations approach the opportunities—and challenges—presented by artificial intelligence?

The AI Christian Partnership has published AI Guidelines for Christian Ministry, offering practical guidance around the benefits, costs and guardrails of using AI in Christian ministry.

This is a practical, non-academic publication.

The publication considers three key areas of church life where AI is already having an impact:

🔹 In the pulpit — sermons, prayers, liturgy, worship songs and more
🔹 In wider ministry — pastoral care, small groups, church meetings and other activities
🔹 In the back office — communications, data processing, policy creation and administration

It also recognises a fourth space: the congregation. As more people use AI in everyday life, churches will increasingly encounter questions about its practical, ethical and theological implications.

Primarily written for church leaders, the guidelines will also be valuable for leaders of other Christian organisations seeking to engage with AI thoughtfully and responsibly.

📖 Read the guidelines on The Faraday Institute website:
https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/posts/26007/

25/08/2026

🌌 Unique Humans in a Strange Universe

What does evolution tell us about the place of humanity in the universe?

Join us in Cambridge for a public lecture with Prof. Simon Conway Morris FRS, 2026 Templeton Prize laureate and renowned evolutionary palaeobiologist.

📅 Wednesday 21 October 2026
🕕 6:00–7:00 pm
📍 Yusuf Hamied Theatre, Christ’s College, Cambridge

Prof. Conway Morris will explore the intriguing question of human uniqueness in a universe that continues to surprise us—drawing on a distinguished career investigating evolution and the history of life.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception and bookstall.

🎥 Can’t attend in person? A recording will be published online shortly after the event.

Find out more: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/event/prof-simon-conway-morris-unique-humans-in-a-strange-universe/

13/08/2026

Something to think about.

Can evolution fit with Christian faith, or does it challenge belief in a loving Creator? Dr Denis Alexander and Ed Atkinson debate evolution, suffering, and purpose - exploring whether science and faith can truly be reconciled.

12/08/2026

Help Us Shape a New Master!

If you have (or will soon have) a bachelor's degree or higher, we would love your input. We are developing a new Master’s Programme in Global Perspectives on Science and Religion. Your ideas can help shape what it becomes. In this 15-minute survey, tell us:

“Which topics interest you most?”
“Whether you prefer to study in person, online, or in a hybrid format,”
“And what would make the programme affordable and accessible?”

At the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, we are exploring the possibility of offering an internationally recognised, accredited master’s degree that examines the relationship between science and religion across cultural contexts. We cannot do this without your support!

Click here to go to the survey:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8916350/e2ad5a001177

29/07/2026

🌍 Creation Care and Climate Change: Biblical and Practical Responses

How might Christian faith shape the way we understand and respond to climate change?

In this thought-provoking talk, Revd Dr Dave Bookless explores biblical perspectives on creation care alongside practical responses to one of the most pressing challenges facing our world today.

The talk was given as part of the Faraday Institute Summer Course 2026, Science, Religion and Society.

This is a free resource available to everyone and well worth watching — or revisiting if you joined us for the course.

▶️ Watch here: https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/resources/multimedia/creation-care-and-climate-change-biblical-and-practical-responses/

Dave Bookless Rocha International .international