Track 1: Science and Religion

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The Changing Landscape of Religion in America

Stephen B. Murray, Ph.D.

It has been argued that the United States has become the most religiously pluralistic country in the world. This course will examine the history of how so many religious traditions came to be in this country and what the diversity of faiths means for increasingly intercultural communities. This phenomenon is commonplace, and yet many Americans remain unaware of the profound changes that are happening at every level of their society.

Dr. Stephen Murray is Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Theology at Barrytown College of the Unification Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he also serves as Senior Pastor of The First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts and as American Baptist Chaplain to Harvard University and Denominational Counselor to Baptist Students and Lecturer in Ministry at Harvard Divinity School. Dr. Murray served previously in higher education as the chaplain and on the faculty of Endicott College, Skidmore College, and Suffolk University, and as Magee Fellow and Director of the Public Internship Program at the Dwight Hall Center for Public Service and Social Justice at Yale University. A graduate of Bucknell University, he also holds the M.B.A. from Endicott College, the M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and the M.Phil. and Ph.D. in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

The Leader of Heart is the Leader of Authority, Applied Leadership

Ann Iparraguirre, Ed.D.

“No creature can fly with just one wing. Gifted leadership occurs where heart and head – feeling and thought- meet. These are the two wings that allow a leader to soar.” - Daniel Goleman

Principles of exemplary leadership will be presented and developed. During this course, participants will examine his/her own leadership skills development through applying the principles of leadership to their personal lives. Participants develop their own “LEAD Star” through personalizing the five points on the LEAD star: Modeling Integrity, Encouraging Action, Inspiring Success, Taking Initiative and Sharing Vision.

Dr. Ann Iparraguirre has been involved with education her entire professional career. She has taught every age level student from pre-school through post graduate college work. She and her husband, Pablo, have four daughters and they currently serve as District Pastor for Lovin' Life Ministry in three states. Dr. Ann was the founder of a pre-school program while her own children were young.

She completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Bridgeport and was co-founder and founding principal of a private elementary school in Bridgeport.
She then worked with the New York City Department of Education taking progressively more responsibility in the District, beginning as an early childhood teacher, becoming assistant Principal in a Middle School in the South Bronx and finally working as a District level administrator for 25 high schools in four different boroughs before retiring to accept her current position.

Dr. Ann's motto is "the leader of heart is the leader of authority." This is never more important than in the role of founding administrator of Student Services for Barrytown College on the Hudson. Expect the programs and policies developed to reflect the philosophy that strength comes from being a life-long learner and that each have a responsibility to contribute back to society in his/her chosen field of expertise.

Scientific Perspectives on the Origins and Nature of the Universe

Alison Wakelin

This seminar will offer historical views of matter and origins of the universe, from atoms to specific representations of extended quantum fields and relate them to religious views such as the Alison_Wakelin eightfold way in Buddhism and in physics (Tao of Physics), the correspondence between structures in the mind (Hinduism, Buddhism) and the structures of Particle Physics (John Hagelin) as well as the debate about consciousness: primary or resultant, the Big Bang, and Multiverse theories – justification from quantum physics and design arguments, with perspectives from Unification Thought.

A graduate of Edinburgh, Cambridge and Princeton Universities, as well as Unification Theological Seminary, Alison Wakelin is a Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy at Widener University. She also has experience lecturing at other universities in the U.S. and in Korea on Mathematics/Physics/Astronomy.

Technology and Theology in Futuristic Perspectives

Stephen B. Murray, Ph.D

The distinctively human enterprise of scientific achievement progresses in leaps and bounds. As it does, we increasingly find the line between “technology” and “human being” blurred through a socially constructed, evolutionary process. All human societies utilize devices of various sorts to aid the task of living. Our species adapts to new situations by inventing technologies that enable us to survive and thrive through environmental changes, dangerous situations, and the realization of opportunities previously unavailable. A study of human history indicates that the encounter of different cultures leads to the appropriation and incorporation of the ingenuity inherent in one culture’s discoveries by another’s body of knowledge and practice. As these tools become increasingly pervasive and blend into our social norms, they affect what it means to be human when we cannot imagine human living without the use of such devices. Whenever our current conceptions of what it means to be human lose their integrity, the instinctive call to meaning-making ought not be ignored. Any destabilization in what it means to be human reverberates throughout the complex interplay of religious doctrines and systems. I argue that both our biological and theological understandings of humanity change as a result of our technological advancement.

My Neurons Made Me Do It: The New Brain Science

Kathy Winings, EdD

Why do we do what we do? What really is going on in our brains? Does our brain stop growing and learning at some point? How is our brain tied to our human nature – both sinful and ideal? Why is it so difficult to make changes in our life, in our character and how is that connected to our brain? Is there a difference between the male and female brain? The new neuroscience field is opening up so much understanding about who we are and how we make sense of the world in which we live. More specifically, the sub-fields of neuropsychology and neuroeducation are now beginning to produce numerous books and materials that shed light on these essential questions. And the really exciting part of it is how compatible this field is with spiritual and faith-based perspectives on human life and human behavior.

Through this course, we will look at the human brain and: (1) investigate how the individual neurons “communicate with each other” so we can “learn,” (2) discuss how neural pathways are formed, (3) look at the relationship of these pathways to our behavior, (3) discover if one can “teach an old dog new tricks” through brain plasticity, (4) consider the role gender plays in our brain and (5) investigate how all of this shapes our behavior and our “human nature.” Learning and change will take on an entirely new dimension as a result of looking at our amazing brains.

kathy_winings Dr. Kathy Winings received her Undergraduate degree in both Elementary Education and Media Studies from Fordham University, her Masters of Divinity from UTS, and her EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University.Dr. Winings was voted into Kappa Delta Pi, the National Honor Society for Education, and also received a special award for Women Educators from Teachers College. In 2007, Dr. Winings was a recipient of the Harriet Tubman Humanitarian Achievement Award. She is also listed in Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in International Education, and Who’s Who of Women Professionals.

Dr. Winings currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs and is director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at UTS.

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