Renny Thomas, Author at International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society

Missionary science and social justice in postcolonial India: The evolution of Jesuit science in the Madurai Province, 1952-2019

Aim of the project: This project will study the socio-historical evolution of ‘Jesuit science’ (scientific activity of Catholic missionaries belonging to the Jesuit Order) in India, after India gained freedom from British rule in 1947. Specifically, the project will examine the nexus between scientific research and the social justice mandate of the Jesuits in the Madurai Province. Need for the project: The engagement of minority religious groups with science in postcolonial India remains largely unexplored. Studying the scientific engagement of Indian Jesuits will serve as a pilot for later explorations of science and Christianity in India. Madurai is relevant because it was the earliest mission station established by the Jesuits in India, after the Vatican restored the Order in 1814. Madurai has produced the largest number of Jesuit scientists in India. The period 1952-2019 is relevant because the Madurai Province was established in 1952 and bifurcated into two provinces –

Episode 4: Science and Religion amongst Indian Scientists with Dr Renny Thomas

Renny Thomas is Assistant Professor (Sociology and Social Anthropology), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, India. Before joining IISER, he taught at the Department of Sociology, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, New Delhi (2015-2021). Renny received his PhD in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and was the 2017-2018 Charles Wallace Fellowship in Social Anthropology at Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. You can read his Researcher Profile here. In this episode, Renny introduces his research on science and religion in India. Renny explains how his ethnographic work in Indian laboratories allowed him to explore belief systems among Indian scientists. He discusses some of the challenges of ethnographic research in scientific settings, from gaining access to negotiating insider/outsider status in the field. Renny’s work challenges orientalist assumptions and helps us to move beyond the science and religion literature dominated by Western perspectives by examining the science-religion relationship