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What a strangely defensive argument Sunny Bains employs against research "encroaching" into the interface between science and religion (Soapbox, February 25).

If science can use its methods to understand religious belief, cannot religious individuals or foundations seek to explore and understand, from a different frame of reference, science and its relationship to faith? Understanding the complex, multifaceted nature of reality, and our experience of it, demands an appropriately designed deployment of varied insights and methods. Or does she really believe science has a monopoly on truth? Science has nothing to fear from the Templeton Foundation; humanity and our sustainable management of the planet have much to gain.

Mike Hulme

University of East Anglia