John Hedley Brooke (born 20 May 1944) is a British

historian of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

specialising in the relationship between science and religion.

Biography

Born on 20 May 1944, Brooke is the son of Hedley Joseph Brooke, and Margaret Brooke, née Brown. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School,

Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal. Retford is located east of Sheffield, west of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Linco ...

, then

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

. On 30 August 1972, he married Janice Marian Heffer."Prof John Hedley Brooke." Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's Peerage Ltd., 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

Academic career

He was a Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College from 1967 to 1968, then a Tutorial Fellow at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

from 1968 to 1969. He was on the faculty of

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

from 1969 to 1999, rising from

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

to Professor of History of Science. With Geoffrey Cantor he gave the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "pro ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1995. He was appointed the first Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at The University of Oxford in 1999, where he directed the Ian Ramsey Centre and was a Fellow of

Harris Manchester College, Oxford Harris Manchester College (HMC) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarianism, Unitarian students and moved to ...

. After his retirement in 2006, he became an Emeritus Fellow of Harris Manchester College and was a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study in the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

in 2007. He was the editor of the ''British Journal for the History of Science'' from 1989 to 1993. He was the president of the

British Society for the History of Science The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) was founded in 1947 by Francis Butler, Joan Eyles and Victor Eyles. Overview It is Britain's largest learned society devoted to the history of science, technology, and medicine. The society' ...

from 1996 to 1998, and has been the president of Science and Religion Forum since 2006. He was also the president of the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) from 2008 to 2011. Brooke was subsequently made an Honorary Fellow (HonFISSR). Evaluations of John Hedley Brooke's contribution to the historiography of "science and religion" can be found in: ''Science and Religion: New Historical Perspectives'' (ed. T Dixon, G N Cantor and S Pumfrey) 2010 and ''Rethinking History, Science and Religion: An Exploration of Conflict and the Complexity Principle'' (ed. B Lightman) 2019

Publications

Books

*'' Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives'' (1991 and 2014) *''Thinking About Matter'' (1995) *''Reconstructing Nature: The Engagement of Science and Religion'' (with G. N. Cantor, 1998) *''Science in Theistic Contexts'' (ed. 2001) *''Heterodoxy in Early Modern Science and Religion'' (ed. 2005) *''Religious Values and the Rise of Science in Europe'' (ed. 2005) *''Science & Religion around the World'' (ed. 2011) Other publications number more than one hundred journal articles and book chapters including contributions to:The Cambridge Companion to Darwin; The Cambridge Companion to the "Origin of Species"; The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science; The Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century British Philosophy; The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible; The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology (editorial consultant)

Quotes

*...I believe we have to revisit and resist the common assumption that

scientific progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

has been the main cause of

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

.https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/historicalReview/article/view/16311/14536

References

External links

*
Biography of Brooke
Institute of Advanced Study
Biography of Brooke

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

Biography of Brooke
International Society for Science and Religion * Biographical Recorded history: Catalogue Ref: C1672/08 Hedley Brooke, John http://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Science {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, John Hedley 1944 births Academics of Durham University Academics of Lancaster University Academics of the University of Sussex Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fellows of Harris Manchester College, Oxford Living people Members of the International Society for Science and Religion People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Retford Writers about religion and science