SPACE AND RELIGION: AN INTERWEAVING OF INFLUENCES

Author: Arnould, Jacques

Source: Zygon, Volume 43, Number 1, March 2008 , pp. 181-189(9)

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Abstract:

Since the earliest ages of humanity, the contemplation of the starry sky has invited the human being to ask: “Who am I? Where is my origin? What is my destiny?” The revolution introduced by modem astronomy has affected how humankind understands itself, and the development of aeronautical and then astronautical techniques introduced a new experiment for humanity—that of being citizen of the sky. By carrying out the dream of Icarus, has humanity realized the attempt of Prometheus? Would we take the place of the gods or God? Do religions have to fear the conquest of space? Despite modern science and the knowledge we have accumulated, space still holds its share of mystery, nurtured by its vast dimensions and startling beauty. Space continues to raise the issue of meaning.

Keywords: anthropocentrism; astronautics and religion; popes; space conquest

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00905.x

Affiliations: 1: Dominican priest in charge of ethics in the French Space Agency, CNES. His address is Couvent Saint-Jacques, 20 rue des Tanneries, 75013 Paris, France;, Email: jacques.arnould@cnes.fr.

Publication date: 2008-03-01