Mary Frohlich Wins Award for New Course
Mary Frohlich
 |
Mary Frohlich, associate professor at Catholic Theological Union and a
soon-to-be novice of the U.S. Province, has received a $10,000 award
from the Templeton Foundation for her new course in the biological
dimensions of human spirituality.
Frohlich’s
course, underway at the graduate school in Chicago, is called “The
Biology of Spirit: Religious and Scientific Perspectives.”
“This
course is designed to give ministry students an opportunity to hear
from scientists themselves about some of the key developments directly
related to religious experience and to human/religious/spiritual
concerns,” Frohlich said in an interview.
“There’s a lot of
scientific work being done on the neuroscience of religious experience,
the evolution of ritual, the effect of spiritual practices on health”
and a variety of related subjects, Frohlich said. “The students get to
hear from scientists and get updated on some of the research that’s
going on.”
Among speakers who will address the class are
Dr. Edward J. Neafsey, a neuroscientist from the Loyola University
Medical Center; Dr. Oliver Putz, an evolutionary biologist from the
University of Texas at Austin, and Sr. Patricia E. Murphy RSCJ of Rush
Presbyterian Hospital’s Department of Religion and Health.
Sister
Lyn Osiek RSCJ, professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological
Union, will speak about the relationship of the new findings to the
Christian understanding of the resurrection of the body, Frohlich said.
The
course is at the frontier of “a whole new level of dialogue” between
religion and science, Frohlich said. “A lot of scientists are still not
open to taking religious matters seriously, but there’s a lot more
openness and recognition of the elements of continuity.”
For people wanting to begin an exploration of research on links between biology and spirit, Frohlich suggests this book: Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief by Andrew Newberg.
People wanting to delve deeper can e-mail her for a bibliography:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The
Templeton award is funded through the Center for Theology and the
Natural Sciences’ science and religion course program. The center is in
Berkeley, Calif.
Frohlich, who holds a doctorate in
spirituality from Catholic University of America, is in her ninth year
of teaching at Catholic Theological Union. She will enter the
noviatiate of the U.S. Province in September.
The award, to
be divided between Frohlich and the school, is intended for
developments in the area of science and religion, she said.
|
