The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) represents one of the most significant
crossroads at which the assumptions and methods of scientific inquiry come into direct contact
with-and in many cases conflict with-those of religion. Indeed at the core of SETI is the same
question that motivates many interested in religion: What is the place of humanity in the
universe? Both scientists involved with SETI (and in other areas) and those interested in and
dedicated to some religious traditions are engaged in contemplating these types of questions
even if their respective approaches and answers differ significantly. This book explores this
intersection with a focus on three core points: 1) the relationship between science and
religion as it is expressed within the framework of SETI research 2) the underlying
assumptions many of which are tacitly based upon cultural values common in American society
that have shaped the ways in which SETI researchers have conceptualized the nature of their
endeavor and represented ideas about the potential influence contact might have on human
civilization and 3) what sort of empirical evidence we might be able to access as a way of
thinking about the social impact that contact with alien intelligence might have for humanity
from both religious and cultural perspectives. The book developed as a result of a course the
author teaches at the University of Texas at Austin: Religion Science and the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
