Science and Religion

Ways of Viewing the Debate

A Clash of Paradigms

    Currently in the United States there are two paradigms that are competing for explaining the universe and our place in it.

w  Religious: Predominantly Judeo-Christian

   There are other religions but the Judeo-Christian perspective is the most predominant and therefore the one I will deal with in this talk. If we had more time we could discuss other world views and how they relate to these issues.

w  Scientific

Three Perspectives

    In an order to create some kind of order out of the chaos of the religion/science debate I am going to use a classification system that divides the debate into three different approaches:

w  Conflict

w  Independence

w  Dialogue/Integration

I. Conflict (1)

     Individuals in this category believe that a person cannot believe in both evolution (I.e. macroevolution) and God.

w   Scientific Materialism

   Individuals in this group consider the fundamental reality of the universe to be matter, I.e. matter is all there is in the universe (no spiritual realm at all).

   Natural laws act on matter to explain everything.

   The universe is ultimately mindless and purposeless (except for whatever temporary meaning mankind gives it).

   Therefore, the scientific method is the only reliable path to knowledge about this universe.

   Individuals in this group:

s   Richard Dawkins: “The Blind Watchmaker”, “The Selfish Gene”
s   E.O. Wilson: “Consilience”
s   Daniel Dennet: “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”
s   Francis Crick: “The Astonishing Hypothesis”

I. Conflict (2)

     Biblical Literalist

w   Individuals in this group believe the Bible is literally true.

w   They believe the universe is very young- about 6,000 years old.

w   They believe there is more to the universe than just natural laws acting on matter.

w   They believe in a  spiritual realm with a God who gives meaning to the universe.

w   Individuals in this group:

   Fundamentalist Christians, Jews,  and Muslims

   Creation Scientists

s   Institute for Creation Research http://www.icr.org

 

I. Conflict (3)

     New Critiques

w   Individuals in this group see the theory of evolution as wrong and critique it from different perspectives.

w   Individuals in this group:

   Phillip Johnson

s   Has written a number of books, the most famous is “Darwin on Trial”. Johnson is a lawyer who has raised criticism of scientific materialists who promote atheistic philosophies as if they were a part of science. He attacks evolutionary theory as if it were inherently atheistic.

   Michael Behe

s   His book, “Darwin’s Black Box” made a significant “splash” several years ago when it was first published. Behe is a biochemist who argues that the “irreducible complexity” of biochemical systems show that they cannot be the product of gradual evolution. Therefore, Behe assumes life must have originated through a predetermined divine plan of intelligent design rather than a dynamic open-ended process in which interaction with a changing environment plays a critical role.

II. Independence (1)

     Individuals in this second approach to the religion/science debates believe the way to avoid conflict is to keep the two fields in separate compartments. It is believed that science and religion each have their own jurisdictions and should not meddle in the affairs of the other.

w   They believe science and religion:

   Ask different questions

s   how versus why questions

   Study different domains

s   the objective material world versus spiritual/moral world

   Employ different methods

s   science is based on human observation and reason whereas religion is based on divine revelation

II. Independence (2)

     Religious Perspective

w   Christians, Jews, or Muslims of this persuasion give scripture a central religious role without insisting on biblical literalism or defending Creation Science.

   They take the Bible seriously, but not literally.

w   Some think God is a primary cause who works through the secondary causes of the natural world that science studies:

   “God acts through laws of nature, using them as his instruments for achieving intended goals.”

II. Independence (3)

     Scientific Perspective

w   The most famous individual who advocates this view is Stephen Jay Gould. He considered himself an agnostic and articulated a principle called, non-overlapping magesteria (NOMA).

   A magesterium is a domain of teaching authority. Each domain has its own distinctive questions, rules, and criteria of judgment. 

s   The magesterium of science covers the empirical realm:
s   What is the universe made of (facts)?
s   Why does it work this way (theory)?
s   The magesterium of religion extends over question of:
s   Ultimate meaning
s   Moral Value

III. Dialogue/Integration (1)

     Individuals in this category are seeking to find a middle way that reconciles science and religion.

w   They do not see science and religion as an either/or way of viewing the universe.

w   They believe that a dialogue between the two ways of knowing the universe can come to a deeper understanding of the universe.

w   The many different research agendas make it impossible to make a simple characterization of this perspective. Rather than trying to elucidate any particular perspective I will simply direct you to resources that you can use to discover the different views.

III. Dialogue/Integration (2)

     Catholic Church

w   The church has been deeply involved in a dialogue.

w   The Pope has sponsored a number of conferences over the past fifteen years at the Vatican with world famous scientists and theologians in an attempt to find common ground between science and the Catholic faith.

w   In 1996 the Pope published an important statement on evolution and its relationship to the nature of man.

     The Center for Theology and Natural Sciences

w   One of the primer places for serious academic research in this field.

w   Located in Berkeley

w   Have a website

III. Dialogue/Integration (3)

     Counterbalance

w   A non-profit educational organization working to promote counterbalanced perspectives on complex issues.

   Underwritten by one of the originators of Microsoft Word, Adrian Wyard.

   Have a very extensive website.

     John Templeton Foundation

w   Goal: to encourage a fresh appreciation of the critical importance---for all peoples and cultures---of the moral and spiritual dimensions of life.

   Established by the famous investor, Sir John Templeton.

   Sponsor conferences around the world in which they bring together important scientists and religious thinkers.

   Website

III. Dialogue/Integration (4)

     Book “When Science Meets Religion” By Ian Barbour

w   In my humble opinion, the best book on the subject.

   This lecture is based on his book.

   Disclaimer: I took some direct quotations from his book without citing them for smoothness of lecturing.

w   Available in our school library

w   Barbour won the Templeton Prize in Religion in 1999

   The prize award is always set to be higher than the Nobel Prize.

s   Current award: over 1 million dollars!