This entry probes the intersections of religion and science from a cultural perspective. Culture and ethnicity are crucial to the ongoing dialogue about meaning, nature, and the role of humankind in the cosmos, Historically, it was assumed that dominant cultures provided the only reliable scientific methodologies and theological interpretations. This preoccupation with rationality, objectivity, and neutrality relegated the wisdom of indigenous people to myth and mystery. Yet scientific findings are more congruent with ancient wisdom than modernist deductions. Ancient intuitions hint at a universe that is expansive rather than exclusive, connected rather than isolated.

Both religion and science offer intriguing insights about the universe, culture, and human nature. Both disciplines, however, have been complicit in the oppression of racial/ethnic people. Historically, religion was used as a catalyst for domination, wars,...