Question:
Can science and religion co exist?
One
2011-03-09 04:19:10 UTC
Can they?
Thirteen answers:
Raymond
2011-03-09 05:33:43 UTC
Science, as it is practiced in our western civilization, is a creation of the Church. Who else had the time, resources and people to form an international network where one could spend a lifetime studying nature and exchange information, along with an infrastructure that included libraries and copyists to ensure that copies of books were available to others around the world (at least, in the Christian world). This is how universities came about.



For example, the very basic principle we still use to make theories better, comes from a Franciscan Friar who made it popular in the 14th century.



The problems come when some religious groups don't like the results from science because the results contradict some lies that they were perpetuating. The Catholic Church lived through that in the 16th and 17th centuries.



Now they know better.



Many scientists are still very religious people, some being members of the Church.



Father William of Ockham is the 14th century friar who popularized the Law of Parcimony (today, we call this principle "Occam's Razor").



Pierre-Simon Laplace was studying in theology when the priests responsible for the school determined that he would be far more useful for society if he continued studies in science and mathematics. He came up with a theory on the formation of planets from a nebula (1796). The Catholic Church was happy because, so far, the only other logical approach for such a theory had been formulated by Emanuel Swedenborg who was also a theologian... but not a catholic one (an example of the far-more-common conflict between religion and... religion).



Unfortunately (for science), Emmanuel continued his work in theology, explaining such things as the nature of the Holy Trinity. I say "unfortunately" because of the 62 year gap in research between Swedenborg's idea and its pursuit by Laplace. I also say unfortunately because Emmanuel ended up concluding that the Last Judgment has already occurred (in 1757).



Charles Darwin was raised both as a Unitarian and an Anglican, giving him access to the best schools in the area. He was neglecting his studies in medicine, in order to further his studies to become a parson. His teachers and his parents worked behind the scenes to re-orient his studies so that he could complete his Medical degree.



Of course, Evolution was already accepted as a fact by the Church. What Darwin did is propose an idea to explain how it worked (Natural Selection). The idea that evolution could work without divine intervention, that is the part that shocked a lot of people at the time... including Darwin himself (he begged scientists to prove his theory wrong -- they tried).



Father Lemaitre was already a priest when he came up with the Primeval Atom Hypothesis (which became what we call the Big Bang theory). He never suffered any doubt to his faith. Even the Church found no problem with his idea, as they made him a Honorary Prelate (rank equivalent to bishop) for his work in science.



As a matter of fact, the "Big Bang" is an awful name for the theory because it causes confusion. The name was given by a famous astrophysicist (who also happened to be a proud atheist), during a radio interview. Unfortunately, the name stuck. This was a different example of a science versus religion conflict (this one showing that atheism is, itself, a form of belief). Fred could not stand the idea that a priest came up with a theory that allowed the universe could have a Creator.



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There are presently some problems in a few English-speaking countries, where groups of pseudo-Christians are trying to push their own interpretation of the Bible, and where this interpretation clearly goes against even the most basic observations. This is not a religion versus science conflict.



This is a political conflict (they want to get control of the education system so that their lies can be taught as if they were as true as scientific evidence).



Science and religion can and must co-exist. In fact, they created each other. They can even be seen as two separate eyes, looking at the same thing (God's creation).
digquickly
2011-03-09 16:15:15 UTC
Well, ..., Yes they can and of course they do.



The two are not mutually exclusive of one another but rather Science and Faith both aide each other. If fact they are quite literally growing together. For instance, growing up in the 1950's and 60's Science taught "Steady State" meaning that the universe was eternal, infinite, and a result of random events with a smattering of causality thrown in. Faith on the other hand taught that God created the universe, that it was finite, would have an end, and that random acts did not exist but rather everything that existed was the result of an unbroken causal chain of events from the beginning to the end.



With the discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation that all changed. Now science believes that the universe had a beginning and that it will have a definite end. Also, that the universe is finite, there are no random events, and that all existence is the result of an unbroken chain of causal events starting with the beginning and moving on to the present.



So you see faith, religion, and science not only coexist they are actually moving towards a common understanding.
Scott Stevenson-Done with Y!A
2011-03-10 12:17:59 UTC
Yes--and it always amazes me when people on either "side" seem to miss a basic concept:



Science and religion are not in competition with each other. They exist to answer wholly different questions.



I've used the analogy before, but I think it fits: Posing them as competing ideas is as dumb as holding up two books and saying "This book on chemistry is 100% correct. Therefore, this book on art history must be 100% wrong".



Trying to use science to disprove religion, or religion to disprove science, results in bad science, bad religion, or (usually) both.



I don't have a problem holding both concepts in my head at the same time--I don't know why it's so hard for some people.
Eric
2011-03-09 14:10:41 UTC
I don't see why not. Most religious texts, if not all, say that the creator exists outside of our time, our universe, etc. so obviously, that means they are governed by different laws of time and space, if applicable.



Science has no need to either prove or disprove the evidence of a creator. Rather, religion actively tries to disprove science because most religious texts attempt to explain how everything got here and if you believe something so fervently, when you see science trying to answer questions your religious text has already answered, you tend to get a little perturbed by it, no matter how obvious or how speculative the explanation is.
nyphdinmd
2011-03-09 12:26:03 UTC
Yes. Science attempts to explain how the universe works - what laws govern the behavior of the physical workd we see around us. It makes no moral or ethical value judgements on these laws nor does it attempt to ascribe a meaning to the existance of the universe. Science takes no position on the existance or lack thereof of a creator and that creator's personal involvement with people on an every day basis.



Religion describes why the universe (we) are here. What our purpose is and what the creator is. It has books that describe the creation process (different for different major religions), how the creator expects us to behave (morals and ethics), why the creator made the world, and so on.



Conflict comes when either science or religion try to take on the other's role.
beradanicto
2011-03-10 11:38:03 UTC
They can co-exist but only as politically correct 'friends' . For while both make claims to understanding, only science is able to demonstrate the efficacy of their claims as secure understanding. So until the 'faith' paradigm is changed to one of demonstrable, evidence based cause and effect insight, which is not at all in conflict with religious scriptures, only tradition, they will co-exist only so long and within the limits, culture provides as a framework which allows both to do so.
Gary B
2011-03-09 15:45:00 UTC
They HAVE to:



"Science without religion is lame;

Religion without science is blind."

Albert Einstein, 1941



Science, without a religious basis, just wanders off by itself, basically doing no good for anyone.

Religion, without scientific facts to back it up, just makes empty, dogmatic claims.



Religion keeps science focused on task -- which is to do good for all of mankind. True scientific research is also GODLY scientific research. but since many scientist have elevated Science to the level of God, we get things like cloning, fetal stem cell research, and arguments about when life begins for purposes of abortion.



Science keeps religion from "going off the deep end". It is significant to note that science CANNOT prove nor disprove the existence of God, AND, that while there have been MANY scientific discoveries proving many parts of The Bible to be true and correct, there has NEVER been a scientific discovery that proves even one tiny piece of The Bible to be incorrect!



It could be extrapolated that, without religion science will destroy us, and without science religion will stifle us.



But understand that God is sovereign over all. God doesn't need science, and He hates religion (ceremonies and superstitions without love, respect, and worship for Him)! So in the end, God's Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, regardless of scientific discovery or religious beliefs.
?
2011-03-09 13:37:19 UTC
yes. BUt it isn't like catholicism, or bhuddism with science. Or any modern religion for that matter. It's an understanding of the universe and how our energy works and how important it is to live in truth in order to manifest a better way.
KTDykes
2011-03-09 12:26:21 UTC
Seeing as they do co-exist, the answer is obviously yes.
anonymous
2011-03-09 12:35:48 UTC
You mean like they co-exist now?
?
2011-03-10 20:20:29 UTC
Yes, but to a certain extent. Science begins to 'undo' religious teachings after a certain point.
anonymous
2011-03-09 12:53:32 UTC
I think it co exists, but at arms length.
Billy Butthead
2011-03-09 12:35:23 UTC
There are problems.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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