Inspired by the hosting of the Carnival of Space by a catholic website, I thought it would be interesting to have a debate between bloggers on the matter of the compatibility of science and religion.
The statement we are debating is a very general one: “Science and religion are ultimately incompatible world views”. If it works out this time, we’ll try another at some point, maybe more specific.
So if you wish to take part (or wade in), then either
- enter a comment here or
- post a blog entry on your own site and place a link in the comments
The rules are simple:
- be courteous and do not swear excessively (or at all if you can help it).
- no flaming (i.e. needless insulting etc)
- try to stick to topic
Let the debate begin!
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
This debate needs a spark…
May 24th, 2008 at 1:30 am
I’m not sure that the question is well defined.
Religion and science fulfill different aspects of human needs. In that sense they are orthogonal or at least do not occupy the same space or set.
Clearly there are interpretations and ways of practicing religion that are incompatible with science (or ways of practicing it). Even if these appear to be in the majority can we say this case must always be. Where is the hard evidence? Consider, is this akin to trying to prove a negative?
There are aspects of organized religion and historical conflicts in organized religion that are mind bogglingly petty! Consider the arguments that arose over the correct time of Easter. The excommunication of the Quartodecimans (Honestly, I didn’t make this up and it’s not plagurizing Ghostbusters). See Calculating Easter @ http://mangsbatpage.433rd.com/2008/03/calculating-easter.html
I just down’t believe that it must always be this way.
May 24th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Orthogonal … what an original way to put it. I like it.
In many ways religion and science are quite similar: they each define a human culture, they each espouse a certain orthodoxy among adherents, they each inspire passion and sometimes ill feelings between practitioners who don’t operate the same way, they each reveal the best and the worst of human beings.
As a science-educated believer, I find their dissimilarities complementary rather than incompatible. As an artist, my appreciation of the beauty of scientific inquiry informs the aesthetic aspect of my faith. Applying science is also a use of my God-given intellect to perceive and better understand the universe.
I realize others see huge conflicts between science and religion. I suppose I just interpret such fighting as human nature. It doesn’t imply that either science or religion is faulty or necessarily flawed.
What is of more interest to me is not the mixing of science and religion, but the exchange between people who operate in these respective cultures. Thanks, Rob, for opening this conversation.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I have posted a response to this debate: http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/2008/05/28/on-science-and-religion/
May 29th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
This is a really tough question - are science and religion compatible? I am not a religious person, I have “faith” in the robustness of scientific thought and testing of nature, but there must also be room for manoeuvre - I understand that my view on the universe will change massively in the future as we learn more about nature.
Unfortunately the traditional thinking behind religion is that it teaches lessons from ancient texts (the Bible, Qur’an etc). In this way it can be viewed as very uncompromising and ridged. However, I have some close friends in physics who are at the top of their game as they are able to approach physics ideas with the philosophy they have learnt from their religious faith. In this way, they are using the best bits from both sides and they are able to debate the existence of a God based on their physics knowledge. They can understand natural cycles as taught in physics by applying their spiritual understanding. It is quite an amazing mindset.
In the wider world (beyond the individual) we don’t generally have groups who have a strong belief in religion and science - most of the time they mix like water and oil (i.e. they don’t!), and if I had to “pick sides” I’d be with science. But this is the problem, why do we have to make that choice? Astronomy was born from religion, but somewhere along the line, science and religion separated. It seems like a hard task to bring both areas back on speaking terms when we think that science is so advanced whereas religion is so traditional. Perhaps we should investigate where the strengths of one can help the understanding of the other.
I’d be interested to see what everybody thinks…
Cheers! Ian
May 29th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Can you merge two Wordpress posts? Comments are divided between here and my own response-post on the topic. Buggar.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi Rob. Yes, you can merge two posts, but it does involve a bit of database tinkering (changing the IDs of the comments and then redirecting from the dead post by using a plugin). I haven’t found a simple way of doing this and fiddling with MySQL can have some nasty side effects. Probably best to direct your readers to the “active” post