ABSTRACT
The pressing questions that bring science and religion together, or conversely, render them asunder, in the twenty-first century are in many ways similar to questions humans have faced for millennia. What is the relationship between humans and the surrounding natural environment? What is the nature and substance of the material universe, and how did it come into being? What is the nature and substance of the physical body, especially in light of illness, sexuality, and death? How does one account for change in physical bodies and the material universe, and the passage of time generally? What is the meaning of life in this world, and is there life in other worlds? These and other perennial questions stay the same, but the answers to them are as varied as cultures that have existed through time and around the globe.
