The Value of Teaching ‘Science, Faith and Culture’ in Tanzanian Higher Education
Abstract
Advances in science and technology confront us with many of the pressing questions and challenges of today. This article describes the course ‘Science, Faith and Culture’, a new course in the 2012–2013 Academic Year for the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences at St. John's University of Tanzania, and demonstrates its significance to Christian higher education, the focus being on the Tanzanian context. A course evaluation by students indicates that it has helped students to think critically and has also resolved previous struggles by presenting the compatibility between science and religious faith. Traditionally, universal or cosmic harmony is important to the African, according to well-known theologian and philosopher John Mbiti, thus reinforcing the relevance to the Tanzanian context. The course is beneficial for the development of the Christian mind and has as its foundation the gospel of Christ. This paper also intends to be an encouragement and resource for other Christian higher education institutes worldwide to use as a basis for developing such a course within their own cultural context.
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Article first published online: December 1, 2011
Issue published: December 2011
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- Science and religion perspectives at St. John’s University of Tanzania (SJUT)
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