
About Why We Believe
What role does God play in a universe ruled by science? How do faith, doubt, and belief shape the way we see ourselves and our place in the cosmos?
From the laws of physics to human meaning and experience, belief collides with knowledge in surprising ways. Particle physicist Jeff Forshaw and humanist Alice Roberts, author of Domination: the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, join psychologist Kathryn Paige Harden and theologian David Wilkinson to explore the relationship between scientific discovery and spiritual belief, challenging how we think, feel and make sense of the world around us. Chaired by Adam Rutherford.
There is a book signing after this event.
Get ahead of your Festival reading and visit the Waterstones Cheltenham Science Festival bookshop and support Cheltenham Festivals with every purchase.

Original Sin: The Genetics of Wrongdoing, the Problem of Blame and the Future of Forgiveness (Hardback)

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes (Paperback)

Domination (Paperback)

Black Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe (Paperback)

God, Stephen Hawking and the Multiverse: What Hawking said and why it matters (Paperback)
Getting Here
Parking
Pay at machine on-road parking can be found around the venue and the nearest main car park is located on St George’s Road (GL50 3DT).
Walk
The venue is a six minute walk from Montpelier Gardens and a seven min walk by foot from the town centre.
Bus & Train
Stagecoach bus services stop nearby on Montpellier and in town centre on the Promenade. The town centre is a 25-minute walk from the Cheltenham Spa Railway Station, with a taxi rank located outside the station as well as local bus services. For further information on Cheltenham bus services, please visit the Stagecoach website.
More infoAccess
The venue’s front entrance has step access, but there is a no-step entrance on the Parabola Road side of the building with push-pad access. Guide dogs are welcome and the venue is equipped with hearing enhancers.
Accessible toilets can be found by the main toilets in the venue, by the circle bar, and the dance studio – all areas can be accessed via a lift.
There is no hearing loop or assistance system in Parabola Arts Centre.
If you are uncertain about your booking we advise contacting our box office via email, by phone on 01242 850 270 during on-sale periods, or by using our Access Booking Form so that we can ensure you seating is suitable for the event you wish to attend. Our booking information page will have the most up to date box office phone opening hours.
More info

