Ian Barbour facts for kids

Ian Graeme Barbour (born October 5, 1923 – died December 24, 2013) was an important American thinker. He spent his life studying the connection between science and religion. Many people say his book, Issues in Science and Religion, written in the mid-1960s, actually started the modern field of studying science and religion together.

A famous scholar, John B. Cobb, said that Ian Barbour made a huge and lasting contribution. He helped bring together scientific knowledge and religious beliefs. Cobb believed Barbour was unmatched in how many different topics he could connect.

Early Life and Education

Ian Barbour was born on October 5, 1923, in Beijing, China. He was the second of three sons. His mother was American and his father was Scottish. His family moved from China in 1931. Ian spent his teenage years in the United States and England.

During World War II, he was a conscientious objector. This means he refused to fight in the war because of his beliefs. Instead, he served for three years in the Civilian Public Service. This was a program for people who chose not to fight.

Barbour studied physics in college. He earned his first degree from Swarthmore College. He then got a master's degree from Duke University in 1946. In 1950, he earned his PhD in physics from the University of Chicago. There, he worked with the famous scientist Enrico Fermi. Later, he also earned a degree in divinity (religious studies) from Yale University in 1956.

Teaching and Career

Ian Barbour started teaching at Carleton College. He taught both physics and philosophy at first. In 1960, Carleton College started a new religion department. Barbour then began teaching religion full-time.

In the 1970s, he helped create a new program at Carleton. This program looked at how science, technology, and public policy were connected. It later became the Environment and Technology Studies program. He retired in 1986.

Barbour gave important talks called the Gifford lectures from 1989 to 1991. These talks were at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His lectures later became a book called Religion in an Age of Science.

In 1999, he received the Templeton Prize. This award honors people who have made progress in religion. He won it for his work in helping science and religion talk to each other.

Family Life and Later Years

Ian Barbour married Deane Kern in 1947. They were married until her death in 2011. They had four children together.

Barbour passed away on December 24, 2013. He was 90 years old. He had suffered a stroke a few days earlier.

Connecting Science and Religion

Ian Barbour was famous for trying to link science and religion. In his book Issues in Science and Religion, he used the term critical realism. This idea suggests that science and religion are similar in some ways. They both have parts that are based on facts and parts that are based on ideas or beliefs.

He believed that both science and religion:

• Have theories that explain information.
• Have ideas that are hard to prove wrong.
• Don't have strict rules for choosing between different ways of thinking.

He also thought they both have:

• Common information or facts.
• Evidence that supports or goes against a theory.
• Ways to judge ideas that don't depend on a specific way of thinking.

Barbour's ideas have been very important to other scholars. These include Arthur Peacocke and John Polkinghorne.

Four Ways to Relate Science and Religion

In his book When Science Meets Religion (2000), Barbour described four main ways that science and religion can relate to each other:

• Conflict: This view sees science and religion as completely opposite. They are always fighting each other.
• Independence: This view says science and religion deal with different things. Science explains the natural world, and religion explains meaning and values. They don't overlap.
• Dialogue: This view suggests science and religion can talk to each other. They can learn from each other's methods and ideas.
• Integration: This view tries to combine science and religion. It looks for ways they can support and enrich each other.

Barbour wrote from a Christian point of view. He also explored ethical questions related to science. For example, he discussed issues like climate change, new technologies, and cloning. He believed science could tell us what is possible, and religion could help us think about what is good or right.

See also

• List of scholars on the relationship between religion and science