Science and religion are indeed compatible, providing that people do not use the ideas and methodologies of one to override or undermine the other. An open mind for a different view goes a long way, and as Aristotle said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it." I think the biggest boundaries between meaningful, peaceful bonds between the religious and scientific communities are the common assumptions that are made. Many people have these assumptions based upon how people dress, act, or speak, and these assumptions typically lead to false conclusions. To keep this personal anecdotal example short, as a scientist and a Jew who regularly wears his yamaka, I have received many confused looks and curious questions about why I am wearing religious garb while I normally "preach" (to play with words) rationalism, logic, the virtues of the scientific method and the need for empirical evidence in human endeavor.
Not to take the conversation too far into the anthropological realm, as Mr. Silvert said, but the fact remains that mysticism, spirituality, and religion are nearly universal in the human condition, however they are expressed. These belief systems, as long as they do not conflict with the ideals, principles, and functioning of science, rationalism, education, and intellectual discourse, do not present problems for each other. Mutual exclusivity is not something that applies, as long as people keep an open mind and understand that faith and reason, while fundamentally different concepts, are both valid ideas and tools of the human mind. - Derek E. Pursell --- On Fri, 5/14/10, James Crants <[email protected]> wrote: From: James Crants <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Science and Religion Dogmatic conflict? Re: [ECOLOG-L] evolution for non-scientists textbook To: [email protected] Date: Friday, May 14, 2010, 11:14 AM On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 9:01 AM, Sarah Frias-Torres < [email protected]> wrote: > Science is based on fact. > Religion is based on faith. > They don't mix. These statements, and some others that have come up, show how narrowly religion has come to be defined in western cultures. In America, particularly, fundamentalist Christianity has come to be equated with all religion. We have come to think that religion is about believing in specific supernatural things in the absence of any evidence, and even believing in certain natural things in spite of all the evidence (e.g., that species do not evolve or the earth is 6,000 years old). Even to many people who consider themselves religious, that would be the definition of faith. Religion and faith are not necessarily about believing in invisible supermen who reward their worshippers and punish unbelievers. Science has proven to be highly compatible with Buddhism and Judaism, for example, and the Jesuits have made significant contributions to science. I've known very good Hindu and Muslim scientists (well, one of each), too. I also worked three growing seasons for an evangelical (not to say fundamentalist) Protestant Christian ecologist, and we debated religion almost every week through that whole period. In all that time, I could find no way in which his religious beliefs conflicted with his science or made him a worse ecologist. Most or all religions are capable of accommodating the view that, if scripture says something that conflicts with science, then that bit of scripture is not literally true. Science and religion seem incompatible partly because many scientists don't share the need many people have for religion or spirituality, and partly because the popular and political influence of fundamentalist Christianity makes religion seem to serve only to delude people into believing things that are demonstrably untrue. Jim Crants
