Relationship Between Science And Religion

When comparing science and religion there has been a great rift. As long as humanity has believed in a creator there as always been thinkers trying to quantify and evaluate the truth behind religion, trying to disprove or prove a supernatural force.

For most people of the modern age, a clear distinction exists between the truth as professed by religious belief, and the truth as professed by scientific observation. While there are many people who are able to hold scientific as well as religious views, they tend to hold one or the other as being supreme. Therefore, a religious person may ascribe themselves to certain scientific theories, but they will always fall back on their religious teachings when they seek the ultimate truth, and vice versa for a person with a strong trust in the sciences. For most of the early history of humans, religion and science mingled freely with one another, and at times even lent evidence to support each other as being true. However, this all changed

Throughout history we can find many instances where religion was strongly opposed to scientific research. For example, the Catholic Church’s objection to Galileo’s defense of Copernicus’ heliocentric model where he offered his observations that he felt furthered the theory that the planets revolved around the Sun. At that time, the belief that the Holy Scriptures were perhaps inaccurate was one thing, but attempting to confirm it as Galileo tried to do was a completely different issue and resulted in Galileo being forbidden by the Church to write or teach his findings. Another example is the opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution by the majority of the

Science and religion were based back in modern days to be the answer to everyone, and society as a whole to handle their issues through the church majority of the time, until science came along and changed the perspective of everyone’s outlook on how they were to solve their conflicts. Within the world today they both still exist and are still being put to use for its main purpose which is to create answers to things we face that need a solution.

Religion and science are two subjects most would choose not to discuss in the same vicinity. History has shown how quarrelsome doing so can be. However, as history has progressed into the modern world both science and religion have become more accepted by their somewhat rival. Might this suggest, after the centuries of debate and controversy, that science and religion have somehow grown to be congruent? Perhaps not all religions, for not all religions can agree with one another, let alone science. Despite past differences, the more science and Christianity are studied and compared, some might see similarities. Ultimately, both science and Christianity very well could be attributed to one another, even if some in the two communities would beg

Townes perspective on science and religion is unique in its approach; in fact, the article clarified many personal misconceptions and summarized the teachings of many faith speakers and scientist. It seems that Townes suggest that science and religion is best understood by questioning, observing, experimenting and having faith in order to find truths to the unknown. According to Townes, science and religion are viewed as two separate, but equally acknowledged fields of study (Townes, 1966). People often believe that there are differences between science and religion because science investigates the natural world and religion investigates the supernatural world. However, some believe the two are complementary (Townes, 1966). Therefore, proposing that the conflict between science and religion can only be resolved by individual thinking.

Amid hundred years ago, individuals from the exploratory world concocted better approaches for managing the unanswered inquiries (Rooney, 2013). At the point when the congregation had the best power, scientists were seen as the terrible folks (Machamer, 2009). Largely, it was more secure to put stock in the church and their thoughts, altogether not to be suspended or disregarded by society, than to put their trust in insane scientists. Subsequently, numerous contentions emerged between religion and

The most popular view between the conflict of science and religion is incompatibility, that is the view that science and religion cannot exist together in harmony. In this view, the two are significantly different approaches to knowledge. Science depends solely on experimental verification, while religion depends strongly on faith. Advocates of this perspective say that history proves true of the

The question over the compatibility/non-compatibility of Religion and Science is one topic whose relevance transcends space and time; this is partly due to the evolution of the subjects of Science over the years. Although there are about 4,200 Religions in the world, while there are about 6 Subject areas within Science; it is not uncommon to compare both as though they were single entities. Such comparisons are possible owing to the fact that the different Religions/Subject areas in Science have certain fundamental values common to them. While Religion is based on Faith and a belief system, Science relies on experimental evidence from which inferences are drawn.

Science “aims to save the spirit, not by surrender but by the liberation of the human mind” (Wilson, 7). Both religion and science seek to explain the unknown. Instead of surrendering reasoning with the traditional religion, a scientific approach one takes full authority over it. Being an empiricist, Wilson takes favors the scientific approach to the question: “why are things the way they are?” This question can pose two meanings: How did this happen, and what is the purpose. Traditional religion answers this question with stories, many of which are impossible to prove or disprove, making them arguments of ignorance. These explanations entail the adherent surrender reasoning and put faith in the resolution. According to Wilson these are always wrong (Wilson, 49). Science is the most effective way to learn about the natural world. Religion is merely speculation.

In the 16th to 17th century, along with the Enlightenment, Galileo shows the human race a neo authority, which is science. Although, science has always been a powerful force long before Galileo’s announcement, most of people treated it as more of a tool, instead of an equally competitive authority with religion. For example, Maimonides is the first philosopher who discusses the contradictory relationship between science and religion. However, Maimonides thinks that the truth of science is compatible with the truth of religion. In his letter to his disciple, Maimonides suggests that although it seems that the truth of science and truth of religious are different, they are actually consistent, because people fail to reinterpret them in a correct way. For this reason, Maimonides and most of people failed to fully capture the power of science until in the 17th century Galileo reintroduced it (the power of science itself). In Galileo’s letter, Galileo points out that because both the Bible and the world are God’s creation, and considering the fact that Bible is ambiguous but Science is clear, theology is incompatible with science. And at this moment, Science itself became a competing authority with

While many have been inclined to consider that science and religion complement each-other, things were different several centuries ago when people considered that it was irresponsible for someone to dare to put across scientific thinking that was in disagreement with religious legislations. Christian fundamentalism is responsible for a great deal of conflicts, taking into account that fundamentalists lobby in regard to how God created the world in six days and concerning how society emerged as a consequence of the fact that a couple was cheated by a talking snake. Even with this, religion has started to express more accepting attitudes concerning science during the recent years.

Two significant cases that helped start the science-religion debate. ‘The Italian mathematician Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) and his interaction with the Roman Catholic Church, and the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882), whose ideas led to controversies with various (mainly Protestant) theologians.’ Galileo’s ideas differed from the church which caused his case called the ‘Galileo Affair’ Galileo was famous for his adaptation sun-centered model of the solar system. Galileo’s support of the ideas of heliocentrism was seen as an offense against the church. Heliocentric books were not allowed and Galileo published one called Sidereus Nuncius which translates to Starry Messenger. Galileo was banned from teaching and spreading heliocentric ideas. He went on by explaining the theory of tides and comets. He explained how tides were evidence of the Earth’s movement. In his later years, Galileo published his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems which clearly was in favor of heliocentrism. Even though Galileo was not against the church, his ideas were opposite of the church’s in his time period.

Tensions between science and religion have recurred throughout history. The issues of what to do with the remains of our ancestors are viewed differently by people. Some people believe that the burial site should be left untouched. Among this group of people fall the Native Americans. Archaeologists, on the other hand, think we should uncover the burial site to be able to discover more about the history of the land from which the grave lies.

Science and theology have diverged lines amongst several of the world’s phenomenon with the two greatest differences being human and world development. Although there are differences in the beliefs of these two groups, they are ultimately attempting to solve the same puzzles that consume the minds of members of both disciplines. In the end one might say, both disciplines are working to solve two different puzzles that may be really different, but ultimately are aspects of the same puzzle. Both the method and the aims of science and religion seem to be different. Science is considered to be more linked to the material aspect of all things, where religion is concerned with the spiritual. These are just two of the differences to be discussed