The 400-plus alphabetically arranged entries range from broad essays on topics such as Biotechnology, Causation, and Sociobiology to shorter pieces on terms such as Cybernetics, Eco-feminism, and entropy. There are also 20 biographies of important figures in the dialogue between science and religion, from Aristotle to Stephen Jay Gould. The fore matter includes an alphabetical list of all articles as well as a synoptic outline, which enables one to see all of the articles related to, for example, physical sciences or Chinese religions. The historical and contemporary relationships between the realm of science and the major religious groups--Judaism, Islam, Christian traditions, Chinese religions, Buddhism, and Hinduism--are treated individually. Major scientific and academic fields are examined in the context of the encyclopedia's focus. Close to 70 articles on the physical sciences, for example, include entries on all the major arenas of the field: chemistry, particle physics, quantum physics, etc., each providing an overview of early research, contemporary developments and lessons, or applications to religious thought. All of the articles are signed and have bibliographies, some extensive. In addition, a nine-page annotated bibliography serves as a guide for further reading (and collection development) in various topics such as the human sciences and religion. A detailed index makes the wealth of material even more accessible.
The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia (Garland, 2000) covers much of the same ground. Both are reference works of very high quality with scholarly contributors, several of them in common. But the approach of the earlier work is to treat fewer topics in broader essays. Some of the treatments are more substantial in the Garland work: medicine is covered in seven pages as opposed to two and a half. The Macmillan work does have a more global scope, including non-Western religions or belief systems. The references and bibliography of the set under review are much more up-to-date.
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