Summary This grant has supported activities which have contributed to a growing and vibrant community of scholars and students working on the intersection of science and religion in MENA. Between 2023-2024, network activities of MENA S&R were expanded. Activities included – an international hybrid workshop, an onsite tour, a virtual seminar series and a writing retreat. Inspired by recent studies of non-Christian contexts in the study of science and religion, our initiative brings together early career and senior scholars to reflect upon the ways the increase of research in non-Christian religious contexts has changed research methods and agendas. Through our network activities, we reflected on the connections between pioneering scholarship on science and religion and recent works in non-Christian contexts, working together to articulate the potential impacts of non-Christian scholarship on main themes in the study of science and religion. For more on our work see an overview of our

Summary: We are requesting funding from INSBS to support an innovative study examining how religious groups legitimize science by themselves, and for themselves. Whereas most scholarship on religion and science focuses on perceived theological ‘tensions’ between science and religion, we develop a nuanced and bottom-up understanding of the ways religion and science are negotiated and legitimized in everyday life. As a case study, we examine the pioneering publication of Niflaot (Hebrew: ‘Wonders of the World’), the first ‘kosher’ Haredi magazine, launched in March 2021. Even though Haredi Jews have tended to have an ambivalent stance towards science, COVID-19  has introduced a renewed interest and growing acknowledgement of the importance of science education. To study this watershed moment in Haredi relationality to science, we combine content analysis and interviews with Niflaot’s editorial staff, public relations team and magazine consumers, to capture the ways scientific knowledge is tailored for religious publics. We