Meaning: Exploring the Big Questions of the Cosmos with a Vatican Scientist

Explore the big questions of science and religion with a Jesuit astronomer.

While science and religion have often been seen as contradictory forces, in reality they complement each other. Indeed, Catholics have often been at the forefront of scientific discovery; the Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel innovated the study of genetics, and the Jesuit Georges Lemaître first proposed the Big Bang Theory. More recently, Pope Francis issued Laudato Si, an encyclical that addresses global warming.

Now, you can join a leading Catholic scientist in examining the most vital questions about the universe. Your guide, Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., an astronomer and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, studies big things—stars, galaxies, and unfathomable distances—but that's not the kind of "bigness" that you will explore here. Instead, you will tackle the most profound aspects of existence: the hows and whys of the universe.

In this brilliant course, you will ask yourself: Does science need God? Can physics prove the existence of God? How do we understand miracles? What is life, and how will we recognize it on other planets? What is the soul?

As you will see, such questions don't have simple, concrete answers. Instead, you will discover new ways of thinking about them, gaining a richer and fresher understanding of our world.

Begin this awe-inspiring journey today.

This course is part of the Learn25 collection and includes a free PDF study guide.