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Society, Religion and Technology Project

Church of Scotland

Director : Dr Donald Bruce

Looking at the ethics of today's technology

Technology is steadily changing the face of our society. Yet we're so familiar with the car, electricity, plastics, the telephone, the TV - not to mention the computer you're using - that it's hard to stand back and grasp the huge impact all of these have made on our lives this century. And what's coming next .... ? Every week almost some new issue hits the headlines and we wonder what to make of it all.

The Society, Religion and Technology Project (SRT for short) is a unique unit of the Church of Scotland set up in 1970 to examine some of these vital issues of our times. We bring professional expertise to providing informed and penetrating comment for technologists, the Church and the public alike. Many of our working group reports have won a reputation for their balance and the high quality of their debate, independent of vested interests and pressure groups.

Go to our Contents to explore SRT's extensive suite of about 65 Web pages.

.... Find out about the SRT Project's work and aims

.... Explore some of the Big Issues the Project is working on ....

like Genetic Engineering, Cloning, Patenting Life, the Environment, Energy, Risk, and the Internet,

as well as the age-old debate on Science and Faith

Read the Church of Scotland's official statement on Cloning, passed by the General Assembly on May 22.

Our site may not all be full of pretty graphics, but we hope you agree it makes up for it in its content! For example, since February, we have been amazed at the thousands of people a week who have been coming to our pages on the ethics of Cloning and Genetic Engineering. And if you've never really thought about these kinds of issues, why not browse our pages and see what you think?

We are closed from December 20 - January 4 inclusive Although the site will still be operational, we won't be able to reply to any forms or emails until mid-January. We wish the blessing of the Christ child whose birth we celebrate, and a fruitful new year.

What is the SRT Project? About the SRT Project's origins, purpose, and work	The Big Issues Browse some of today's major issues in technology
SRT Website Map A quick way to browse our pages	Talking Point : This month's hot issue Is Germline Therapy a Step Closer?
1997 General Assembly SRT's Reports to Church of Scotland's Assembly	Church adopts Motions on Cloning Scotland's national church's official postion

SRT Publications List An extensive list of books, reports, articles and videos	SRT Bulletin SRT's free quarterly newsletter, *now on-line*
More Information SRT's address, and phone and fax numbers	SRT's Wider Links Some links to related Web Sites
mailto:[email protected] Email us a comment or request	SRT Site Index Index of all SRT Pages

Browse some major issues which SRT is studying

Technology has certainly brought great benefits, but they have not always been entirely for the good. For technological advances almost inevitably bring along with them some unexpected impacts, sometimes with far-reaching ethical implications for society. In the last few years, more and more people have begun to realise that we're in danger of letting our technological expertise run ahead of human values, environmental care and public safety. Genetic engineering, transplanting animal organs into humans, global warming, pollution, road traffic, nuclear power, virtual reality, and, of course, the Internet, are all posing some big questions for human society. And the answers we give will affect our lives far into the future.


Genetic Engineering	Human Genetics
Cloning	Patenting
Environment	Energy
Risk	Climate Change
Internet Issues	Science and Faith?

Talking Point : IS GERMLINE THERAPY A STEP CLOSER?

Up to date comment on a contemporary issue in technology, which we change every few weeks.

Germline therapy is the name given the possibility to change our genetic makeup in such a way that it would automatically change our progeny as well. It is possible in animals, but has hitherto only been regarded as a remote possibility in humans, and it's an area most ethical studies have come out against. During 1997, however, two discoveries have brought that possibility much closer than many had thought..

SRT's Reports to the Church of Scotland's 1997 General Assembly, May 17 - 23

The SRT Project presented four reports to this year's General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- its Main Report on SRT's work - a report on Patenting Living Organisms - a supplementary report on Cloning - and one on the BSE/CJD crisis in collaboration with the Church and Nation Committee.

In a historic move, Scotland's national church has passed two motions concerning the cloning of animals and humans, so establishing its position on these issues with which it has been interacting for over a year.
It has also called upon the European Parliament and Commission to prevent the patenting of living organisms and sections of the human genome.

Back to Contents

How to find More about the SRT Project

See What is the SRT Project? for more about the Project's origins, purpose, and work.

The SRT Publications List page displays the wide range of our published material. The standard version uses frames but we also have a Non-frames version. We also have a quarterly On-line Newsletter which is distibuted by post to all Church of Scotland parishes and our extensive mailing list.

For our other web pages, see the SRT Website Map, or the Links to SRT Project Pages by Subject, or see our complete Index of SRT Pages.

To contact the SRT Project directly, write, phone or fax to our address :

Society, Religion and Technology Project

John Knox House,
45 High Street,
Edinburgh EH1 1SR,
Scotland.
Tel : +44 131-556 2953, Fax : +44 131-556 7478
e-mail address [email protected]
Alternatively, you can email us

mailto:[email protected]

We'd love to know who called, and would welcome your comments.
If you wish, please sign our Guest Book

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Return to Further Information
Links to other SRT Project Pages
SRT Website Map

Society, Religion and Technology Project

Church of Scotland

Director : Dr Donald Bruce

Looking at the ethics of today's technology

CONTENTS

Browse some major issues which SRT is studying

Talking Point : IS GERMLINE THERAPY A STEP CLOSER?

How to find More about the SRT Project

We'd love to know who called, and would welcome your comments. If you wish, please sign our Guest Book

INDEX OF SRT PROJECT PAGES

We'd love to know who called, and would welcome your comments.
If you wish, please sign our Guest Book