slug: collaborative-inquiries-in-christian-theological-anthropology For the John Templeton Foundation, I wrote about how new scientific insights are reshaping theological discussions on human nature.
Human flourishing and freedom are topics that have long been considered by theologians and humanities scholars, but recent work in the life and social sciences—on subjects ranging from how brains make decisions to how individuals develop virtues — is presenting some of those age-old topics in a new light. A new three-year, $3.9 million research project funded by the John Templeton Foundation and led by theologians Jesse Couenhoven at Villanova University, and Gerald McKenny and Neil Arner at the University of Notre Dame, aims to help theologians integrate recent biological and social scientific research into their work. The project will support research and networking for a dozen theology and religion professors as they pursue projects related to scientifically-informed theological anthropology.
Each principal researcher will work with a scientific consultant who has deep expertise in a particular subject area to provide feedback throughout the project. These researchers include Jennifer Herdt (Yale Divinity School), who is looking at whether evolutionary biology leaves room for a theological account of human uniqueness and dignity; Emily Dumler-Winkler (St. Louis University), who is investigating how scientific work on autism can broaden theological accounts of human flourishing; Kevin Hector (University of Chicago), who is examining how the psychology of memory and selfhood might yield new insights on spiritual practices such as forgiveness, confession and testimony; Jonathan Tran (Baylor University), whose project is examining whether cognitive and biolinguistic offers new insights for questions about human nature and the image of God; and Christiana Zenner (Fordham University) who is looking at how planetary science’s account of humans’ capacity to modify the planet might alter theological conceptions of human purpose.