Religion and Science as Forms of Life

Carles Salazar is Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Lleida. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has carried out ethnographic fieldwork on cooperation, religion and kinship. His publications include Anthropology and Sexual Morality. A Theoretical Investigation (Berghahn, 2006) and European Kinship in the Age of Biotechnology, co-edited with Jeanette Edwards (Berghahn, 2009).

“The publication of this volume marks a rich addition to long-established anthropological fields of magic, religion, and science. More importantly, however, the book is an important, much-needed injection to arguably sidelined anthropological fields of belief, disbelief, and, relatedly, unresolved contradiction.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)“The contributors accomplished what they set out to do. They crossed disciplinary lines, exchanging and cross-referencing essays, while maintaining functionality in their own areas of expertise. The book produces an enlightening and fruitful conversation about religion and science as forms of life.   It is especially recommended for academic classrooms to encourage critical reasoning and debate.” • International Social Science Review“Religion and Science as Forms of Life: Anthropological Insights into Reason and Unreason brings together various theoretical positions from which to consider how forms of knowledge are articulated, opposed or mingled together, and their impact in different social settings. It is of special interest for academics in the field of anthropology and sociology of religion, but it can also be of particular relevance to anyone interested in analyses that explore the categories of ‘superstition’ and ‘belief’.” • Anthropological Forum“Drawing on an eclectic range of ethnographic, empirical and theoretical sources, this book is a fascinating and timely contribution to contemporary scholarly debates about that most troubled of interfaces, between religion and science.” • Alexander Smith, The University of Warwick“The conceptualization of the volume in terms of science, religion and forms of life (although public life might also work) is original and compelling as a means of exploring the complex terrains and scales at which religion and science meet, are received and transform one another.” • Paul-François Tremlett, The Open University

• Introduction: Science, Religion and Forms of LifeCarles SalazarPART I: COGNITIONChapter 1. Maturationally Natural Cognition Impedes Professional Science and Facilitates Popular ReligionRobert N. McCauleyChapter 2. Scientific vs. Religious ‘Knowledge’ in Evolutionary PerspectiveMichael BlumeChapter 3. Magic and Ritual in an Age of ScienceJesper SørensenPART II: BEYOND SCIENCEChapter 4. Moral Employments of Scientific ThoughtTimothy JenkinsChapter 5. The Social Life of Concepts: Public and Private 'Knowledge' of Scientific CreationismSimon ColemanChapter 6. The Embryo, Sacred and ProfaneMarit MelhuusChapter 7. The Religions of Science and the Sciences of Religion in Brazil.Roger Sansi-RocaChapter 8. Science in Action, Religion in Thought: Catholic Charismatics’ Notions about IllnessMaria ComaPART III: MEANING SYSTEMSChapter 9. On the Resilience of SuperstitionJoão de Pina-CabralChapter 10. Religion, Magic and Practical Reason: Meaning and Everyday Life in Contemporary IrelandTom InglisChapter 11. Can the Dead Suffer Traumas? Religion and Science after the Vietnam WarHeonik KwonNotes on Contributors