Abstract
Remembered for his role in the Oxford Movement and for his 1845 conversion to Roman Catholicism, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) remains famous for his spiritual autobiography, Apologia pro vita sua (1864) and his seminal collection of lectures, The Idea of a University. Newman's ideas about science and religion have received comparatively little attention, however, despite their inclusion in The Idea of a University. In 1855, as Rector of the new Catholic University in Dublin, Newman delivered two lectures: "Christianity and Physical Science" and "Christianity and Scientific Investigation." Although much scholarship treats Newman's thought and Victorian science separately, little has been written about both; and no historian of science and religion has provided a focused study of Newman's 1855 lectures. This paper contributes to such a study. After a brief introduction to Newman and the context of his 1855 lectures, this paper provides a critical summary and analysis of Newman's thought on science and Christianity as presented in those lectures. It concludes by suggesting ways Newman's thought may contribute to contemporary discussions of Intelligent Design theory.