Can Science + Religion Co-Exist?

[dreadfulpenny81]

The answer is YES.

A recent study from Rice University indicates that 15% of scientists at major research universities see science and religion in constant conflict.
They interviewed a scientifically selected sample of 275 participants, pulled from a survey of 2,198 tenured and tenure-track faculty in the natural and social sciences at 21 elite U

Comments

[singlethink]

There is no need for them to be in conflict as they both have their own unique spheres.

The conflict arises when religion tries to influence science or scientific policy, as it has a tendency to do (or vice versa, hypothetically).

[new_wave_witch]

Exactly.

[a_new_machine]

Or when religion proscribes scientific outcomes (see young-earth creationists who refuse to accept or account for adverse evidence, and yet demand an equal place at the table).

I agree.

[sophia_sadek]

Science is the pursuit of truth. Traditional religion is the practice of deception.

[ddstory]

It usually takes more than a research to "affect" anything.

Still, Ms Aronowitz's effort to prove her point is commendable.

[meus_ovatio]

I don't see why they couldn't, since they've co-existed for quite some time now.

[stephantom]

They are only in conflict if people view their religious beliefs as decided issues, closed for debate. That kind of stubborn, dogmatic thinking, especially combined with literalism, is what makes people refuse to acknowledge what scientific research and philosophical thinking has led most of to believe about things like evolution or even whether something like homosexuality is acceptable

[stephantom]

I know I'm kind of just rambling on and on, but I wanted to elaborate on this thought just a little:

It's perfectly possible to be a materialist and a determinist yet still have a religious attitude toward existence and science.

By "religious attitude" I do not mean religious in the sense people mean when they say, "I brush my teeth (or whatever) religiously." I think that some other qualities of religious feeling, like reverence, a sense of awe, a curiosity about and maybe even longing for the unknown, transcendent experiences, the understanding of being a small part of something unfathomably big and mysterious... All that can (and should, I think) be a part of scientific study.

[dreadfulpenny81]

What about religious people who are skeptical of science because people use it as a talking point to try and tear-down their belief system -- can you understand why they'd be stubborn?

[stephantom]

I can... to a point. I have to admit I have some trouble sympathizing because I came from a very religious background myself (went to church every sunday; uncle was a priest; aunt was a nun; grandma sometimes read us the bible when we were "bad"; attended a religious high school and "got confirmed" etc.) and, while I did feel defensive of it for a while, I never wanted to deceive myself by not considering every possibility. And eventually (it wasn't a straight path -- in fact, it involved a few years of becoming very deeply religious, more than I'd been in childhood, albeit with some views that would be considered heretical by really traditional Catholics) I realized where I was going with all my questioning and philosophy-reading: atheism (or maybe belief in some incomprehensible and impersonal, mindless god

[soliloquy76]

They can conflict when some religious beliefs/ideas/concepts are disproven by science. You know, like young earth creationism, geocentrism, flat earth, etc. I wonder what percentage of scientists are geologists, astronomers, and biologists? I'd guess around 15%.