Science and Religion in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis

The Quest for the Best Mental Model of the Universe

Science and Religion in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis is the first comprehensive examination of C. S. Lewis’s views on the relationship between science and religion, authored by an internationally acclaimed writer recognized as an authority on both Lewis and the field of science and religion. It focuses on the literary depictions of this relationship and its significance in cultural discussions regarding the boundaries of human knowledge, as well as Lewis’s understanding of the roles of science and religion in humanity’s pursuit of meaning and significance. This study provides a rigorous and historically informed analysis of Lewis’s perspective on the interplay between science and religion, drawing both on his studies of medieval and Renaissance literature and his literary and philosophical explorations of naturalism and materialism. In particular, it highlights the importance of the constructive role of the imagination (and not merely the analytic role of reason) in constructing an authentic ‘model of the universe’.