Panel: UNITY AND DIFFERENTIATION. INQUIRING NON-DUALISM AS INTERDISCIPLINARY PARADIGM



644.7 - QUANTUM PHYSICS AND THE STUDY OF RELIGION: EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FROM THE QUANTUM TURN

AUTHORS:
Giorda M.C. (Roma Tre University ~ Roma ~ Italy)
Text:
This paper investigates the intersections between quantum physics and the academic study of religion, arguing that the central challenge does not concern the compatibility of their respective fields, but rather the possibility of an epistemologically grounded interaction between their objects of inquiry. The analysis is guided by a methodological question: can a interdisciplinary field be established between quantum physics and the science of religion, capable of articulating methods and theoretical categories in a non-reductionist way? The paper offers a critical overview of the main phases of the so-called Quantum Turn, highlighting an asymmetry between the longstanding interest of physicists in religious traditions and metaphysical questions, and the comparatively limited engagement of religious studies with contemporary models of physics. Particular attention is devoted to the philosophical problems of quantum physics, with a focus on Werner Heisenberg's reflections on indeterminacy, the observer-object relationship, and the epistemological limits of scientific knowledge. The paper is situated within the methodological concerns of Religious Studies, arguing that they raise crucial questions about categories such as belief, experience, knowledge, and interpretation. From this perspective, quantum physics becomes a heuristic resource for reflecting on how the study of religion constructs its objects of analysis and negotiates the boundaries between scientific explanation and religious meaning.