Philip Clayton is a philosopher and theologian specializing in the entire range of issues that arise at the intersection between science and religion. Over the last several decades he has published and lectured extensively on all branches of this debate, including the history of modern philosophy, philosophy of science, comparative religions, and constructive theology. Clayton received the PhD jointly from the Philosophy and Religious Studies departments at Yale University and is currently Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University and Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology. In addition to a variety of named lectureships, he has held visiting professorships at the University of Cambridge, the University of Munich, and Harvard University. Above all, Clayton’s books and articles address the cultural battle currently raging between science and religion. Rejecting the scientism of Dawkins and friends, he argues, does not open the door to fundamentalism. Instead, a variety of complex and interesting positions are being obscured by the warring factions whose fight to the death is attracting such intense attention today. Clayton has drawn on the resources of the sciences, philosophy, theology, and comparative religious thought to develop constructive partnerships between these two great cultural powers. As a public intellectual he seeks to address the burning ethical and political issues at the intersection of science, ethics, religion, and spirituality (e.g., the stem cell debate, euthanasia, the environmental crisis, interreligious warfare). As a philosopher he works to show the compatibility of science with religious belief across the fields where the two may be integrated (emergence theory, evolution and religion, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience and consciousness). Office: Craig 209; Claremont School of Theology 1325 North College Avenue Claremont, California 91711 (909) 447-2570 email: pclayton@cst.edu

Click here to access the sign up sheet for Professor Clayton’s office hours

Upcoming Talks & Lectures

  • Mar. 10-12, Claremont, CA: Organizing a conference entitled “Theology After Google: Leveraging New Technologies and Networks for Transformative Ministry,” to empower pastors, laypeople, and up-and-coming theologians of the next generation to do “theology after Google,” theology for a Google-shaped world. Giving a talk entitled “Talking Truth in the Google Age” on March 10th. Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 14, Claremont, CA: Giving a talk entitled “Quaker Traditions and Practices: What Binds Friends Together When They’re So Diverse?” at the Friends Meeting in Claremont.
  • Mar. 18, Chicago, IL: Giving a talk at 4:00pm entitled “Human Uniqueness Evolved and Evolving: Biology, Culture, and Transcendence”, sponsored by the Hyde Park Religion and Science Society (HPRSS) and the Zygon Center for Religion and Science (ZCRS). Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 18, Chicago, IL: Giving an opening talk at 6:00pm entitled “This Sacred Earth: Why Interreligious Partnerships are Indispensable in Addressing the Global Environmental Crisis” at Shared Earth: An Interfaith Conference on the Environment, sponsored by the Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 19-21, Goshen, IN: Presenting three lectures on “Evolution After the Religion Wars: Rethinking Humanity and Ethics in Light of the Science-Religion Partnership” at the Annual Goshen Conference on Religion and Science. The first lecture is entitled “Starting with the Big Picture: The Evolutionary Emergence of Body, Mind, and Spirituality,” the second is “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences,” and the third is “What’s a Nice Hominid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Ethical Dilemmas Our Biology Never Prepared Us For”. Click here to visit their website.
  • Mar. 27, Loma Linda, CA: Giving a talk from 10-12:00p entitled “Emergence, Religion, and Faith: Speculating on the Connections at the neurology classroom in the Coleman Pavilion at Loma Linda University.
  • Apr. 9-10, St. Paul, MN: Giving an opening keynote entitled “The Emergence of the Natural World, the Emergence of Religion, Or Why the Value-Free, Belief-Free Study of Religion Can Never Suffice” for the annual meeting of the AAR, Upper Midwest Region. Click here to visit their website.
  • Apr. 15-16, Chicago, IL: Giving a talk on theology and science at Loyola University Chicago.
  • Apr. 22-25, San Anselmo, CA: Giving a talk entitled “Christian Panentheism and Contemporary Science,” in the student-faculty History of Religion Seminar entitled “Nature, Miracle, and Magic” on April 22nd. Participating in a discussion with Bruce Reyes-Chow on “Are Seminaries an Anachronism? Revolutionizing Theological Education and Christianity in the 21st Century” on April 23rd at 4:00pm at Scott Hall of San Francisco Theological Seminary.
  • Apr. 28-30, Claremont, CA: Speaking at the “Conference on Ecological Civilization,” sponsored by the Institute for Postmodern Development in China. Click here to visit their website.
  • May 10-14, Philadelphia, PA: Giving a lecture series entitled “With Science Beyond Science: The Human Quest for Meaning and Transcendence.” This series is sponsored by the Metanexus Institute, and consists of five lectures: 1. “Starting with the Big Picture: The Evolutionary Emergence of Body, Mind, and Spirituality,” 2. “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences,” 3. “Persons in Quest of Meaning: Psychology, the Arts, and the Social Sciences,” 4. “What’s a Nice Hominid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Ethical Dilemmas Our Biology Never Prepared Us For,” and 5. “Transcendence and Self-Transcending: Anthropology, Cosmology, and Religion.”
  • June 21-23, Berkeley, CA: Giving a talk entitled “Advances in Theoretical Biology: Biology, Culture, and the Question of Meaning” at a conference on biology, biosemiotics, and theology at University of California at Berkeley.

[ complete list of talks & lectures ]

Books: Forthcoming Titles

  • Beyond the Religion Wars: The Path from Reduction to Reenchantment (forthcoming).
  • What to Believe: Explorations in Science, Philosophy, and Faith (with Steven Knapp), in preparation.
  • This Sacred World: What the New Integration of Science and Religion Has to Say about Ecology, Politics, and Human Spirituality, in preparation.
Transforming Christian Theology: For Church and Society Philip Clayton (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2009)

Christian language is alive and well in the churches, and sometimes even outside them as well. But serious reflection about what Christian language means in our world today is in deep trouble. This book, written for non-specialists, makes a radical call to pastors and laypeople to get involved and transform theology as we know it today. It offers concrete advice to readers on how to explore and voice their own Christian beliefs in such a way that they can have a transforming impact on both church and society. For further details on the Transforming Theology project, see TransformingTheology.org

[ complete list of books ]