Science and Faith

Historically, the two disciplines have been separate, even at war. In the modern era, though, does this remain true?

Religion and science have not traditionally co-existed well. In 1633, Galileo was famously tried by the Catholic Church for publishing Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in which he offered his theory of heliocentrism (the Earth revolves around the Sun). This went against biblical teachings which claimed the Earth was the centre of the Sun’s rotation and Galileo, labelled a heretic, was placed under house arrest after confessing due to threats of torture. This was just one clash during the Inquisition: part of a wider campaign against scientific progress that disagreed with Catholic scripture.

Almost 400 years later, the influence of organised religion has declined: in the 2011 UK census, the percentage of people who deemed themselves to be ‘irreligious’ was 25.7% (more than double the 10.3% in 2001). Furthermore, there are entirely secular countries (no official state church) such as France, Australia and China. The UK, however, is directly linked to religion: Queen Elizabeth is both head of state and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Considering this, the fact that many scientists identify as religious/people of faith is noteworthy, given that most major religions are rooted in ancient history[1], far removed from science as we know it today. Is it possible to study and work in science while maintaining one’s faith?

It could be asserted that the downwards trend in organised religion is a result of advances in science: as more answers to existential questions are provided, the less likely people are to look to a higher power for those same answers. I interviewed several chemistry students at the University of Sheffield who practice religion with different levels of commitment. All had a religious family background, but agreed that they began to consider their religion to be their own belief system between the ages of 12 and 14. When asking whether the recent deterioration in popularity of traditional religions was an indicator that they may one day become completely redundant, I was met with one particularly perceptive answer:

“The need for complete open-mindedness and tolerance, while important, is becoming a belief in itself and seems to replace religion, which is an obvious threat.”

While the statistics show that commitment to a single faith is on the decline, this answer suggests that a more fluid system of belief is beginning to usurp organised religion. Open-mindedness and tolerance are sentiments usually directed towards other people, so perhaps this indicates a shift in nature of the fundamental relationships on which our beliefs are built. Where previously moral systems might have been constructed around the relationship between an individual and their god(s), interaction with other humans may now be the dominant influencing factor in how people approach the world around them. In other words, how we treat each other could define the foundation of people’s ethical codes, rather than what behaviour would honour their deities. While this reasoning would align with the answer the student gave, it is important to remember that the ‘Golden Rule’ has been a part of every major religion that exists today: treat others the way you wish to be treated. The Qu’ran (Q:4:36) tells Muslims to “do good to… neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the traveller and those that your right hands possess (slaves), the Bible commands Christians to “do unto others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). In light of this, we can say that the interaction of an individual with the rest of society has impacted ethical practice for thousands of years and is not simply a recent phenomenon.

Central to this matter is the following question: can the two institutions of scientific study and faith (and all their subdivisions) coexist, and indeed work together to further society in any way? Or are they conflicted to the point of being irreconcilable? When I asked the students this question, the responses were overwhelmingly in support of the former; one pointed out that they are tools used to answer different questions. To many people, God represents a higher reasoning, a divine purpose for a seemingly incomprehensible, directionless mass of humanity – in short, religion deals with the ‘Why?’ questions. Science, on the other hand, seeks to explain the mechanisms behind the world in which we live – the ‘How?’. On this note, it was put to me that the two are not mutually exclusive at all. The world that we study through scientific methods and everything we observe – evolution, the Doppler effect, respiration – could simply be the design of an omnipotent being.

The interviewees did acknowledge that there are some points where scripture and science clash. For example, studies of the Earth’s geology estimate that our planet is 4.54 billion years old, while the Bible claims that God created the world between 6000-10000 years ago. I decided to press this issue, questioning how the students drew the line between what they believed in (regarding religious teachings) and the evidence offered by scientific theories. The answers seemed to indicate that each individual’s belief set was comprised of what instinctively made sense and sounded correct rather than considering what was more likely. This supported the notion that while people may gather under the umbrella of a specific religion and take comfort from sharing their faith with others, every person has a unique approach and should be free to define their beliefs independently.

It is plain to see that, while loud minorities among atheist and religious communities would have you believe differently, the majority of people of faith see no reason why science and religion should conflict. Furthermore, though the role of organised religion may naturally diminish as society progresses, this does not necessarily indicate a switch of public confidence from one to the other and undoubtedly faith still plays an integral role in the lives of many. From the answers given, there are very few occasions where science and religion are completely in contradiction.

Greg Coppack

Critical Thinking Tip:It should be noted that the opinions and perspectives provided were predominantly Western- and Christian-focused, and different inferences may be drawn from other religions and world views. When approaching any conclusion, it is important to consider the limitations to the research that allowed you to reach it and how they might influence that conclusion.

[1]Islam was thought to be founded in the 7th century, Christianity in the 1st