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Founded in 1997, the Metanexus Institute is a not-for-profit organization “dedicated to promoting scientifically rigorous and philosophically open-ended explorations of foundational questions.” The institute has organized the exchange of ideas through many conferences, published books and its website. Metanexus’ online magazine has published scholars whose “ability to synthesize knowledge in constructive and nuanced ways challenges our thinking and propels us forward into a healthy, just, and sustainable future,” and it has worked with hundreds of academic institutions. The mission of the Metanexus Institute is to facilitate a global conversation that uses insights from Big History—humanity’s common scientific origin story—to discuss solutions to Big Problems and productively debate Big Questions .

Big History

In recent years, Metanexus Institute has actively promoted the concept of Big History. Big History is a field of historical study that examines history on large scales across long time frames through a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on both the history of the non-human world and on major adaptations and alterations in the human experience. It seeks to understand the integrated history of the cosmos, earth, life, and humanity, using the best available empirical evidence and scholarly methods. It arose as a distinct field in the late 1980s and is related to, but distinct from, world history, as the field examines history from the beginning of time to the present day. In some respects, the field is thus similar to the older universal history. Big History is also referred to as the epic of evolution and the history of nature.

Metanexus Institute has endorsed the adoption of a Big History curriculum in school systems worldwide. Metanexus has sought to “incubate such courses in undergraduate colleges and universities, book clubs, religious congregations, and ultimately in age-appropriate ways in K-12 education, here in the United States and around the world.”

History

In 1997, William Grassie, an assistant professor in the Intellectual Heritage Program at Temple University, launched the “Meta-List,” a moderated listserv on science and religion that began with 600 subscribers and quickly grew to several thousand. During the following year, William Grassie was joined by four faculty members from the [University of Pennsylvania] – Andrew B. Newberg, Sol Katz, Peter Dodson, and Steven Dunning – in creating the Philadelphia Center on Religion and Science (PCRS). In 1999, PCRS hosted a special symposium at the University of Pennsylvania with Holmes Rolston III on the subject of his Gifford Lectures and newly released book Genes, Genesis, and God: Values and Their Origins in Natural and Human History. During the following year, PCRS was renamed the Metanexus Institute, and the Meta-List re-launched as a dynamic website with the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, Metanexus then launched the $5.1 million Societies Initiative (which funded 200 groups worldwide) and hosted the “Genetics, Bioethics, and Evolution” conference at Haverford College. In 2001, Metanexus administered the $800,000 Templeton Research Lectures program (which awarded grants for interdisciplinary studies and lecture series) and hosted the “Interpreting Evolution” conference at [Haverford College].

The John Templeton Foundation granted Metanexus a $3 million expansion grant in 2002, which was used to host three conferences: “Interpretation Matters” at Haverford College , “Science and Ultimate Reality” in Princeton, New Jersey, and “Spiritual Transformation Research” at the University of Pennsylvania . During this time, Metanexus moved its offices to University City, Philadelphia.

During 2004, Metanexus launched the $3.3 million Spiritual Transformation Scientific Research Project and hosted two conferences: “Works of Love: The Science of Altruism” at Villanova University and “Spiritual Capital” at Harvard University. Metanexus went on to launch the $3.75 Spiritual Capital Research Program and administered the $4.8 million renewal of the Templeton Research Lectures program. . The organization also hosted the “Science and Religion in Context” international conference at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2005, Metanexus launched the $5.79 million Templeton Advanced Research Project and hosts the “Science and Religion: Global Perspectives” international conference at the University of Pennsylvania. Metanexus expanded its efforts abroad in 2007 when it sent a delegation to the International Conference on Science and Religion in Tehran, Iran, and the organization hosted three conferences of its own in the United States: “Continuity and Change” at the University of Pennsylvania , “Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery” (including the Young Researchers Competition) at the University of California, Berkeley .

Metanexus launched the $8.9 million Metanexus Global Network Initiative (MGNI) and hosted the “Transdisciplinarity and the Unity of Knowledge” international conference at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. Metanexus also underwent organizational changes during this time: Eric Weislogel was appointed the new executive director; the offices moved to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and William Grassie left Metanexus to spend a year abroad as a Senior Fulbright Fellow in the Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka while continuing to serve on the Metanexus board.

Metanexus continued its international efforts in 2008 when it hosted the “Subject, Self, and Soul” international conference in Madrid, Spain. Eric Weislogel resigned as executive director. William Grassie returned to Metanexus as executive director in 2009 when the organization hosted “Cosmos, Nature, and Culture” international conference at Arizona State University.

In 2010 Metanexus Institute successfully closed out all of its contracts with the John Templeton Foundation. Metanexus also moved its offices back to Center City, Philadelphia. Metanexus launched a book series and published three books: Politics by Other Means, Advanced Methodologies, and Transhumanism and Its Critics. William Grassie also published, The New Sciences of Religion (Palgrave Macmillan 2010). . The organization hosted David Christian for lectures on “Big History” at the New York Academy of Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and Villanova University.

The board of Metanexus adopted a new mission in 2011 "promoting scientifically rigorous and philosophically open-ended approaches to foundational questions." The organization closed its Philadelphia office and relocated to New York. It also creates a small offshoot organization at Chestnut Hill College. Metanexus published a new book, Indic Visions in an Age of Science by Varadaraja V. Raman, initiates a salon series in New York City, and launched a new website.