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Philip Clayton
Philip Clayton holds a triple appointment at Claremont: in the department of Religion, the department of Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University, and as Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology. His previous teaching posts include Williams College and the California State University; he has also held invited guest professorships at the University of Munich (two years), the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Divinity School (also two years).
Professor Clayton has published widely in the philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, and theology. The central focus of his work for close to three decades has been the relationship between science and religion, and he is recognized as one of the leading figures in this field internationally.
Clayton received a joint doctorate in philosophy and religious studies from Yale University for work on the theory of explanation in physics, social science, and religion. Since that time he has written or edited some17 books and some 120 articles in the field. Within the natural sciences, his research has focused on emergent dynamics in biology and on the neural correlates of consciousness in neuroscience. He has co-authored or edited a number of publications with physicists, chemists, and biologists, analyzing emerging natural systems and exploring their significance for the study of religion. He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science. His latest book, Adventures in the Spirit, on emergence and panentheism, has just been published by Fortress Press.
In addition to his own publications, Clayton has been a leading advocate for the internationalization of the science-religion dialogue. As P.I. for the “Science and the Spiritual Quest” program, and more recently as senior advisor and judge for the “Global Perspectives in Science and Spirituality” program, both funded by the Templeton Foundation, he has been at the forefront of efforts to expand scholarship in this field into the non-Western traditions. Most recently, he has begun work on a Ford Foundation grant on “rekindling theological imagination”; see TransformingTheology.org.
Phone: (909) 447-2570
Address: Claremont School of Theology
1325 North College Avenue, Craig 209
Claremont, California 91711
Professor Clayton has published widely in the philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, and theology. The central focus of his work for close to three decades has been the relationship between science and religion, and he is recognized as one of the leading figures in this field internationally.
Clayton received a joint doctorate in philosophy and religious studies from Yale University for work on the theory of explanation in physics, social science, and religion. Since that time he has written or edited some17 books and some 120 articles in the field. Within the natural sciences, his research has focused on emergent dynamics in biology and on the neural correlates of consciousness in neuroscience. He has co-authored or edited a number of publications with physicists, chemists, and biologists, analyzing emerging natural systems and exploring their significance for the study of religion. He is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science. His latest book, Adventures in the Spirit, on emergence and panentheism, has just been published by Fortress Press.
In addition to his own publications, Clayton has been a leading advocate for the internationalization of the science-religion dialogue. As P.I. for the “Science and the Spiritual Quest” program, and more recently as senior advisor and judge for the “Global Perspectives in Science and Spirituality” program, both funded by the Templeton Foundation, he has been at the forefront of efforts to expand scholarship in this field into the non-Western traditions. Most recently, he has begun work on a Ford Foundation grant on “rekindling theological imagination”; see TransformingTheology.org.
Phone: (909) 447-2570
Address: Claremont School of Theology
1325 North College Avenue, Craig 209
Claremont, California 91711
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As these diverse spiritual memoirs testify, for many today, the spiritual journey has lead to the discovery of a divine reality that, it turns out, we already inhabit, one that encompasses us all. Sometimes called "panentheism," this relational and participatory vision is allowing for a "return to God after God" and thus a continuation of the spiritual journey. Such a God is not found in some people and some places, but in everyone and everywhere.
In eight probing chapters, the authors of The Predicament of Belief consider the most urgent reasons for doubting that religious claims - in particular, those embedded in the Christian tradition - are likely to be true. They develop a version of Christian faith that preserves the tradition's core insights but also gauges the varying degrees of certainty with which those insights can still be affirmed. Along the way, they address such questions as the ultimate origin of the universe, the existence of innocent suffering, the challenge of religious plurality, and how to understand the extraordinary claim that an ancient teacher rose from the dead. They end with a discussion of what their conclusions imply about the present state and future structure of churches and other communities in which Christian affirmations are made.
Surprisingly few theologians have recognized the paradigm shift represented by the convergence of these two important schools of thought. Clayton’s pioneering work develops new models of God and the God-world relation in light of panentheism and emergent complexity and models an open-minded Christian theology that still respects tradition.
As these diverse spiritual memoirs testify, for many today, the spiritual journey has lead to the discovery of a divine reality that, it turns out, we already inhabit, one that encompasses us all. Sometimes called "panentheism," this relational and participatory vision is allowing for a "return to God after God" and thus a continuation of the spiritual journey. Such a God is not found in some people and some places, but in everyone and everywhere.
In eight probing chapters, the authors of The Predicament of Belief consider the most urgent reasons for doubting that religious claims - in particular, those embedded in the Christian tradition - are likely to be true. They develop a version of Christian faith that preserves the tradition's core insights but also gauges the varying degrees of certainty with which those insights can still be affirmed. Along the way, they address such questions as the ultimate origin of the universe, the existence of innocent suffering, the challenge of religious plurality, and how to understand the extraordinary claim that an ancient teacher rose from the dead. They end with a discussion of what their conclusions imply about the present state and future structure of churches and other communities in which Christian affirmations are made.
Surprisingly few theologians have recognized the paradigm shift represented by the convergence of these two important schools of thought. Clayton’s pioneering work develops new models of God and the God-world relation in light of panentheism and emergent complexity and models an open-minded Christian theology that still respects tradition.