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"SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY "
1. Introduction
Romania represents an important ecumenical nucleus. Here, like nowhere else, at the Orient's doors, the Earth's all religions melt and live together, the Romans, orthodox Christians by excellence, being well known for their tolerance. Moreover, in Romania, like in the other parts of the Balkans, as an anti-communism reaction maybe, the communism being seen at a certain time like an anti-Romanian ideology, the secularization was made in a slower manner: the Romanian man has a more open attitude to religion than the Western one, who was exposed to profane since the times of Renaissance.
Following the communist revolution, plenty of theology Faculties appeared, and therefore a lot of priests to be. They are going to influence the believers' life and behavior. It is necessary for the future priests to have a minimum scientific knowledge, too. Furthermore, there are signs that the theological language has changed, and now, it is rather being tried to debate the religion's specific issues, than the apodictic tone without any reaction. This new wave has to be receptive to the science's challenges.
Why in Romania/ why from Romania: in the western countries, science specialists even since decades ago, did compel the attention to the nature's destruction, caused by the industrial development. The ecology has found a very sound ally in the orthodox theology, therefore an orthodox Homo religiosus will not make any attempt on nature's life, because this is the creation of God; a loyal disciple of this idea was Dumitru Staniloae, the greater Romanian theolog and probably one of the greatest orthodox theologs too. Another very influent conscience for the Romanian society is Mircea Eliade, who pleaded for the recognition of the fact that, without religion, there is no free and fulfilled human conscience. It is obvious therefore, that the modern science (and do not forget that its origins go back to the researches made in the monasteries) converges religion.
2. The experience of the country and of the organizers
During the past few years, after the communism collapse, the Romanian society witnessed an initially shy opening coming from the scientific community and from the members of the Romanian Orthodox Church' clerical society, as well - both of them manifesting their intention to explore the relation between each other's specific domains.
In order not to keep the above mentioned intentions in an only declarative state of being, a number of persons wanting to break this fundamental interface, did involved themselves by publishing articles dedicated to this issue, by organizing symposia and specific conferences, sometimes as sections in the frame of such manifestations with a larger character.
The interest for the investigation of the proportions between science and religion was intercepted from the commercial point of view too, by a number of prestigious editing houses, that dedicated to this theme a number of titles or even book collections, that have afterwards been recognized as ones of the public preferences. Consequently, even since 1990-1992, everyone interested in the subject succeeded in having access, in Romanian language, at the basic writings of Stephane Lupasco, David Bohm or Imre Toth, these being ones of the most popular … Of a smaller success, in the terms of market penetration, were the radio and TV broadcasts, that approached the relation between science and spirituality or the relation between religion and the latest scientific progresses, only in an auxiliary and accidentally manner. The institutional frame also reacted slowly, not being able to adapt itself to the need for exploration of this fertile object of study.
Therefore, in order to force a little, maybe, the events' display, the next step was, naturally, the organizing in Bucharest of an international colloquium entitled: " Science and religion. Antagonism or complementarity". The colloquium -organized by the National Commission of Romania for UNESCO and the Romanian Academy, with the support of the John Templeton Foundation and of the Paris Interdisciplinary University- was framed in the Science and the Spiritual Quest II programme of the Berkeley's Center for Theology and Natural Sciences, California. Enjoying an important international participation, and also an exceptional gathering the most interesting personalities from within the country, the event was meant to be an unleashing impulse of a chain of similar manifestations.
Besides, the " Science and Technics" magazine- the most prestigious science popularization publication in Romania- responded to this intention, initiating after an issue specially dedicated to science and religion, a large serial meant to familiarizes the readers with the most common concepts and ideas used in this debate, and also with the today's researches and opinions or with the modern personalities and the future manifestations' calendar.
In order to achieve a rational and a coherent continuation of such approaches, in the new stage that opens to us, we need a stricter frame of action, and also an institutionalized administration of a new type of such measures of organizing. All of these can be supplied by the National Commission of Romania for UNESCO, that could also ensure the logistic support, and the examination of the conceptual frame, monitoring carefully all the achieved progresses.
3. The general objective
The project' aim is the institutionalization - at a regional level - of the dialog between the science specialists and the clerical representatives of all confessions, for the formulation of the principles of the III Millennium's society creation- the informational and knowledge society.
4. The project's description, activities, stages
The project is conceived to be realized in three stages:
A. A. Mass-media campaign (annex 1)
Local and central radio and TV stations, local and central newspapers, science magazines, publications of the clergy.
Modules of 6 weeks are foreseen, that will be resumed, with other themes, every second month, with a period of pause of two weeks.
Among the themes that will be submitted are:
- the evolution's theory and its consequences for religion;
- the cloning - a challenge for the bioethics;
- the religion's psychology- the science approach over the actual act of faith
- about the existence of other civilizations
- Is there good and evil in the world of robots and artificial intelligence?
- The proportion man-robot to God-man
- The genetics and the theology
- Arthur Peacock and his contribution to the dialog between science and religion
- Science and religion about the design argument
- Chaos and cosmos. The of science and the logic of religion
- The eternity. The time theory of J. Richard Gott
B.
Discussions forum, meetings and INTERNET:
- work groups creation at the national and regional level;
- the launching of mass-media debates ( section A) and the opening of a discussion's forum on the Internet ( website and chat);
- organizing a manifestations cycle at a local, national and regional level, that will cover: monthly thematic round tables, every three month national symposia having the participation of science specialists, Church representatives, the government representatives, the civil society representatives, participants from abroad ( formulating transdisciplinary work documents for the decision forums of the participant institutions)
- the annual conference with international participation that will formulate a document/carta - principles for the III Millennium's informational society and a plans of actions ( government, ministries, church, science academy, science specialists' society).
C. The dialog institutionalization:
- Permanent organization of conference with international participation, as a institutional form of this dialog; formulating documents of the conference's organization, choosing work and decision organisms to follow the periodical implementation and adapting of the adopted action plans;
- the constitution at the national level of collectives/ nucleus /organisms/ organizations to make lobby and to follow the implementation of the programmes approved by the conference
- continuing the actions from the sections A and B by promoting and debating the adopted principles, ideas, documents, plans of actions.
- Conceiving and applying of multivalent educational structures for the training of specialists capable to promote this dialog; for the beginning, having in view, the theology studying in the scientific education and the sciences studying in the theological education, following, gradually, to appear own, non-centralized or virtual educational forms.
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CNR-UNESCO
