Major grant will allow theologians to explore the impact of quantum science for human meaning and purpose
The University of Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and Religion has been awarded a major grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation to support The Quantum Worldviews Project; a new research initiative located in the Faculty’s Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion.
The aim of the project will be to explore the implications of quantum science for human meaning and purpose.
Launching during the United International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the project will investigate how quantum mechanics shapes human worldviews, identity, agency, and meaning. It brings humanities and sciences into dialogue at a moment when quantum technologies and quantum ideas are reshaping global culture.
Quantum mechanics underpins vast areas of modern life, yet its humane and existential implications remain largely unclear. The Oxford team will explore how humans interpret and appropriate quantum ideas, and what it means to inhabit a universe that may be “quantum all the way up.”
Professor Mark Harris, Principal Investigator of the research project, said: “Quantum mechanics has transformed how we understand the natural world, yet its implications for human self-understanding have barely been explored. Many religious people already turn to quantum ideas to address existential or spiritual concerns, but these interpretations often overlook the deeper challenges and opportunities posed by the science itself.
"Our project seeks to clarify what it means for human beings to inhabit a universe that may be ‘quantum all the way up,’ and to understand how this shapes the beliefs, values, and worldviews through which people make sense of their lives.”
Earlier this year, the Faculty of Philosophy also marked the centenary of the birth of quantum theory with a conference and a series of public events. You can read more about that, and the importance of the humanities to shaping the development of quantum, here.
