"The intersection of biology and religion has spawned an exciting academic area, attracting scholars, generating research projects, and gaining notice in general culture. Topics dealing with the relation of biology and religion are inherently interdisciplinary, making philosophy - which is also inherently interdisciplinary - essential for clarifying the issues, identifying key assumptions, and evaluating alternative positions. Therefore, in this book we develop a philosophical discussion of the major topics shaping this field of inquiry, acquainting the reader along the way with the major voices and viewpoints that have contributed to its advance. The Table of Contents itself projects a panorama of important issues pertaining to biology and religion. Of course, the issues covered are located within the broader scholarship on the relationship of science and religion, which is both historical and philosophical, a relation that has been conceived in multiple ways, as we shall see. Furthermore, the biosciences are special in that they pertain to life - to the whole organic world - leading us early on to consider their relation to the sciences of the inorganic world. The subject of life - its origin, organization, and development - is a deeply vested interest for both biology and religion, raising questions about creation, evolution, design, and purpose that we must work through"--