Steno Learning Program in Faith and Science: A Seminar for Catholic Secondary Educators

The Steno Learning Program (SLP) is a week-long seminar to be held annually over three summers (2011-2013). Its goal is to educate science and religion teachers from Catholic high schools throughout the U.S. regarding the relationship that exists between faith and science in the Catholic intellectual tradition and empower them to impart this heritage to their students. Christian belief and modern science are considered mutually hostile by many in our society, and Catholic educators often find themselves unprepared to elaborate the relationship between them. Religion teachers are not adept at educating their students regarding the Church's openness to scientific discoveries, nor in guiding their students into the faith-science dialogue. Science teachers are often not adept at distinguishing between scientific methods/discoveries and metaphysical/theological claims. In response, the SLP will foster an integrative vision in which faith and science bear harmonious witness to the unity of all truth. In preparation, participating teachers will receive and read a library of books and articles which address the faith/science relationship. Seminar groups will include both science teachers and religion teachers, and will be moderated by doctoral-level participants in faith-science dialogue as well as expert high school science and religion educators. Upon completion of each seminar, participants will be thoroughly conversant in the biblical, historical, philosophical and theological foundations for a mutually enriching rapport between the sciences and the Catholic Faith, and attain the pedagogical tools to instruct high-school students in the same. Outcomes will include faculty in-services and curricular implementation at participating schools. Its enduring impact will be the creation of an atmosphere in which students in Catholic schools see faith and science as distinct yet complementary aspects of human knowledge, impacting thousands of students.