Science and Religio-Culture. Investigating Identity Constructions in the Field of Stem-Cell Research in Germany and the US

该项目询问科学工作是否受到研究人员的宗教文化背景的影响，如果是，又是如何影响的。除了个人的宗教性，“宗教文化”一词还强调了个人在其人生历程中对宗教文化制度的含蓄接受。制度在这里意味着习惯变成了规范。这个问题将在德国和美国的干细胞研究领域进行调查。基于传记访谈和参与者观察的结合，该项目分析了1)研究人员如何在他们的科学工作中预测由宗教文化机构塑造的法规，2)研究人员在与同事交流时是否以及如何回忆在他们的传记过程中塑造了他们的宗教文化机构，或者3)在解释无法解释的原因时。有了这个研究问题，该项目试图填补科学研究中的一个中心研究空白。该学科旨在研究科学知识生产的社会嵌入性。然而，迄今为止，知识生产中潜在的文化差异被低估了，而科学界被视为同质实体。该项目采用对比的方法，重点关注研究人员的传记及其对调查过程的潜在影响。从这个角度来看，该项目重新审视了宗教在当今国际联系的知识社会中的重要性，以及科学知识生产的过程。干细胞研究领域是特别合适的，因为两种完全相反的假设是合理的。一方面，它是自然科学这一已确立的学科中的一个高度专业化的领域，因此，人们可以期望它具有高度的同质性和封闭性，以抵御非科学的影响。另一方面，科学史已经展示了许多宗教文化如何塑造医学研究领域的例子。今天，在公共领域有许多关于干细胞研究的伦理和道德辩论；研究人员面临着处理这些问题的挑战。德国和美国在公共话语和干细胞研究法规方面是双重对比的案例：在德国，宗教与其他国家相比是不重要的。然而，中国对干细胞研究的规定是世界上最严格的。相比之下，在美国，宗教非常重要，但对干细胞研究几乎没有规定。因此，在两国的研究实践和话语环境之间存在一种可比较但相反的紧张关系。

The project asks whether scientific work is influenced by the religio-cultural backgrounds of the researchers, and, if so, how. Besides the individual religiosity, the term religio-culture also emphasizes the implicit acceptance of religio-cultural institutions in the course of one's biography. Institution here means habits that became norms. The question will be investigated in the field of stem-cell research in Germany and the US. Based on a combination of biographical interviews and participant observation, the project analyzes 1) how researchers anticipate regulations that are shaped by religio-cultural institutions within their scientific work, 2) whether and how researchers recall religio-cultural institutions that have shaped them in the course of their biography while communicating with their colleagues, or 3) while explaining the unexplained. With this research question, the project seeks to fill one of the central research gaps in science studies. The discipline aims to investigate the social embeddedness of scientific knowledge production. However, potential cultural differences in the production of knowledge have thus far been underestimated, while scientific communities are seen as homogeneous entities. This project adopts a contrasting approach by focusing on the biographies of the researcher and their potential influence on the process of investigation. With this perspective, the project re-examines the importance of religion in the internationally connected knowledge societies of today, as well as the process of scientific knowledge production.The field of stem-cell research is particular appropriate because two complete contrasting hypotheses are plausible. On the one hand, it is a highly specialized field within a well-established discipline of natural science and, thus, one could expect a high degree of homogeneity and closure against nonscientific influences. On the other hand, the history of science has shown numerous examples of how religio-culture has shaped the field of medical research. Today, there are numerous ethical and moral debates about stem-cell research in the public sphere; researchers are challenged to deal with those issues.Germany and the US are doubly contrasting cases regarding the public discourses on the one hand and the regulations governing stem-cell research on the other hand: In Germany, religion is of low importance in comparison with other countries. However, the regulations on stem-cell research are among the most restrictive in the world. In the US, by contrast, religion is of high importance, but there are few regulations on stem-cell research. Thus, there is a comparable but converse tension between research practice and the discursive environment in both countries.