astronomy

Ralph Wendell Burhoe

Ralph Wendell Burhoe is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ralph Wendell Burhoe rather than just read about it. In short: Ralph Wendell Burhoe (May 21 or June 21, 1911 – May 8, 1997) was an American theologian. His work centered on the importance of religion in a scientific and technological world.

Key takeaways

Ralph Wendell Burhoe belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ralph Wendell Burhoe to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ralph Wendell Burhoe from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ralph Wendell Burhoe (May 21 or June 21, 1911 – May 8, 1997) was an American theologian. His work centered on the importance of religion in a scientific and technological world. He was awarded the Templeton Prize in 1980.

Biography Ralph Wendell Burhoe was born on 21 June 1911, in Somerville, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University from 1928 to 1932 as a student of meteorology and climatology, though never completing his degree. He then entered Andover Newton Theological School. Burhoe spent eighteen months in theological study at Andover. Instead of becoming a minister as he had planned, he returned to Harvard University as an employee of the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, finding some success as a scientist. He went on to become the first full-time executive director of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences starting in 1947. His position at the AAAS brought him into close contact with such eminent scientists as the astronomer Harlow Shapley, the geologist Kirtley Mather, and the biologist George Wald. While there, he was one of the founders of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. In 1965, Burhoe joined the faculty at the Meadville Lombard Theological School, the Unitarian Universalist seminary then in Hyde Park, Chicago. There he facilitated the founding of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science and the Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS). After retiring from Meadville in 1974 he was affiliated with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where in 1988 he founded the Chicago Center for Religion and Science. His ashes are interred in the crypt at First Unitarian Church of Chicago where he was a member.

Contributions Ralph Wendell Burhoe pursued a passionate investigation into the differences and similarities of theology and science, becoming one of the world's most informed voices in communicating this evolving research. He played a major role in the interdisciplinary pursuit of issues at the boundary of science and religion by offering a common ground for dialogue. According to theologian Hans Schwarz, the journal Zygon has "achieved a circulation far beyond the confines of theological journals".

Awards and honors In 1980 he was the first American to win the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Honorary doctorates from Meadville Lombard Theological School (1977) and Rollins College (1979). The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, of which he was a founder, bestowed on him its first Distinguished Career Achievement Award in 1984. Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the World Academy of Arts and Letters.

Works Science and Human Values in the 21st Century, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971. Review: Spencer Lavan, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Volume 40, Issue 3, (Sep., 1972), page 410 Review: David O. Moberg, Review of Religious Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, (Winter, 1973), pages 134-134 Toward a Scientific Theology, Christian Journals Ltd., 1981, ISBN 9780904302707

See also List of science and religion scholars

References David Breed, Yoking Science and Religion: The Life and Thought of Ralph Wendell Burhoe, Chicago: Zygon Books, 1992, ISBN 9780961823313

External links Templeton Prize - Previous Prize Winners Philip Hefner, History of Zygon Center for Religion and Science CASIRAS and Its Partners by Karl Peters Archived 2017-04-02 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ralph Wendell Burhoe

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ralph Wendell Burhoe claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ralph Wendell Burhoe before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ralph Wendell Burhoe ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ralph Wendell Burhoe

In research: Ralph Wendell Burhoe appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ralph Wendell Burhoe in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ralph Wendell Burhoe is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1911 births, 1997 deaths, 20th-century American science writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ralph Wendell Burhoe outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ralph Wendell Burhoe” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ralph Wendell Burhoe in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ralph Wendell Burhoe means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ralph Wendell Burhoe out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ralph Wendell Burhoe in simple terms?

Ralph Wendell Burhoe (May 21 or June 21, 1911 – May 8, 1997) was an American theologian. His work centered on the importance of religion in a scientific and technological world.

Why does Ralph Wendell Burhoe matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ralph Wendell Burhoe?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ralph Wendell Burhoe.