A talk at the conference on “Other Realities: New Religions and Revitalization

1. Introduction One significant but not widely appreciated impact of the " new religions " has been to reopen the question of the relation of religion to science. I speak of new religions in the sense defined by Needleman in his book by that title, that is, I am referring primarily to Eastern teachings which have gained adherents and cultural influence in the West over the past two decades. To some degree, certain of these religious systems can be viewed as encompassing " sciences " with well-articulated theories and powerful technologies, and it is this particular perspective on these religious movements which I would like here to explore. It may well be that the most substantial possibility of a creative dialogue between religion and science lies not in the encounter of the mainstream Western religions with science, which of course has a long history, but in the contemporary meeting of Western science with Eastern religion, in this 'grand titration'– to use Needham's expressive chemical metaphor – of West and East which is occurring in America today.