STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—The Templeton Religious Trust awarded Franciscan University of Steubenville a $250,000 grant to conduct research into seminarians’ attitudes toward modern science and to foster an appreciation and understanding of the complementarity of faith and science.

Dr. Daniel Kuebler, professor of biology at Franciscan University, is the project’s principal investigator. His colleagues, Dr. Sabrina Bierstetel, assistant professor of psychology, and Dr. Matthew Breuninger, associate professor of psychology, were also instrumental in obtaining the grant and will participate in the research as co-investigators.

“So many young people struggle with integrating the findings of modern science with the truths of the Catholic faith,” said Kuebler. “The goal of this research is to better equip Catholic seminarians to effectively minister to this growing population.”

The project will assess the preparedness of Catholic seminarians to deal with issues involving science and faith. This information will be used to develop two-day “Modern Science and the Catholic Faith” seminars that will be held at the participating seminaries. The seminars will be organized in partnership with leading organizations that deal with science and religion issues in the Catholic world, including the Society of Catholic Scientists and the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life. At the completion of the seminars, changes in the attitudes of participants will be measured and assessed.

Areas related to faith and science to be explored in the survey and seminars include understanding the relationship between evolution and Creation, and how neuroscience can contribute to our understanding of the human person. Each topic is chosen to help seminarians more effectively integrate modern science with a Catholic understanding of the cosmos and humanity’s place within it.

The Templeton Religion Trust is a global charitable trust that supports projects seeking to enrich the conversation about religion.