Dr John Polkinghorne: Friendship of Science & Religion

9th November 2011 at 1:10 pm

Dr John Polkinghorne is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest in 1982. He served as the president of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1988 until 1996.

Polkinghorne is the author of five books on physics, and 26 on the relationship between science and religion; his publications include The Quantum World (1989), Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (2005) and Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion (2007). The Polkinghorne Reader (edited by Thomas Jay Oord) provides key excerpts from Polkinghorne's most influential books. He was knighted in 1997 and in 2002 received the Templeton Prize, awarded for exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension.