Thank God for Science

Thank God for Science

On 25 October 2020, IEF member Dr. Ashiyan Rahmani of California State University, East Bay, gave a webinar on "Thank God for Science" as one of the weekly OZ Whitehead Firesides in the United Kingdom. Dr. Rahmani used the example of his own Ph.D. dissertation research in Fiji to illustrate how science and religion could be complementary and mutually reinforcing. His research looked at how modern communications technologies helped Fijian women to overcome their traditional isolation and lack of empowerment, and supported climate change resiliency and social change, in research inspired by the Bahá'í concept of gender equality. Through the Bahá'í community in Fiji, he was able to be accepted as more than an outside researcher. Many spiritual principles were incorporated into his research design and the interpretation of the results. The result was both academically interesting and of practical benefit to the women and communities concerned in a spirit of reciprocity. The video recording is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tfj90kQYXY.