Contrary to the view that relations between religion and the sciences in the sixteenth century were ridden with bitter conflict, the studies here indicate the ways in which religious conviction - Jewish, Roman Catholic or Protestant - and the development of the natural sciences and medicine influenced each other.

Jürgen Helm, MD, Goettingen University, is Assistant Professor at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
Annette Winkelmann, MA in Judaic Studies, University of Cologne, is Project Manager at the Leopold Zunz Centre for the Study of European Judaism and Managing Editor of the Newsletter of the European Association for Jewish Studies.