The document discusses the historical and modern relationship between religion and science. It provides background on how religion has historically dictated scientific theories and controlled government. A key example is the Catholic Church's resistance to heliocentrism. The document also covers the Scopes Monkey Trial and the ongoing debate around creationism vs. evolution. Finally, it discusses the modern conflict around religion and climate change, noting that while some religious groups reject climate science, others support environmental protection efforts.
2. Historical Aspects
Humans have long been interested in topics relating to science and religion. The
majority of societies have deeply integrated the two topics into each other throughout
the duration of history. As a result of closed-mindedness and bigotry, there has long
been disputes, both within societies and between different societies, between who is
right about what religion is correct, whose science is more accurate, and to what
degree do science and religion mix.
3. Church's Historical Role In Government
Church and government have never been largely separate, until
relatively recently with the emergence of America as a country
founded on the idea of “freedom of religion” (though it was
predominantly Puritan). Historically, churches were in charge
of and acted as the government body in the majority of
societies. With the church acting as a form of government,
more often than not religious-political figures, beliefs, and
doctrine dictated scientific theories and ways of thinking. There
are many examples of this throughout history, but perhaps one
of the best would be the great debate of geocentrism and
heliocentrism (Pilgrims and Puritans: Background, 2009).
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4. Geocentrism vs. Heliocentrism
Geocentrism is the idea that Earth is the center of the universe
and everything revolves around it. For centuries, this was
believed to be the truth, until 1543, when Nicolaus Copernicus
proposed his idea of a sun-centered solar system, known as
Heliocentrism. Copernicus was the first to actively propose
heliocentrism, which he did at the very end of his life. It is likely
that he waited up until the end of his life to release his theory
because any idea that contradicted geocentrism was heavily
resisted by the Catholic church, which largely based its scientific
beliefs on Aristotelian philosophy (Aristotle believed if the earth
did actually spin, then objects would fly off the earth). This is just
one of the many examples of the strict role religion has
historically played in science. It does not take much observation
to see that religious institutions feel threatened by new scientific
discovery because it may contradict their doctrine. This leads to
one of the largest fundamental debates with science and religion;
creationism vs evolution (From Geocentrism to Heliocentrism,
2014).
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7. The Scopes Trial
The 1925 State of Tennessee v. John Scopes trial AKA “The Scopes Monkey Trial” was the first defining battle
between science and religion in the United States.
John Scopes, 24 at the time, taught evolution as part of his curriculum at a high school in Dayton, Tennessee.
Scopes agreed to be a test subject against the newly passed law prohibiting the teaching of scientific theories that
contradict the religious belief of a “biblical creation of man” (PBS), widespread at the time.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defense lawyer Clarence Darrow helped defend Scopes’s arrest in court
William Jennings Bryan, a pacifist Christian and former presidential candidate, defended the prosecution to suppress
the “inevitable social movements” which stem from evolution and the lack of a literal interpretation of the bible
(PBS)
The verdict read that Scopes was guilty and was fined, but this “trial of the century” publicized the scientific
evidence behind evolution. Although Bryan technically won the case, many believed that he had lost the
argument.
8. Creationism & Religion
Creationism is the idea that the Universe and all life was created by the act of divine creation and
intelligent design in a span of seven days. The ideas of creationism are laid out in the Bible in the
Book of Genesis. Genesis 1:1 states the idea clearly, “In the beginning, God created the Universe.”
The creationist or fundamentalist
view on the world’s origin stems from a
literal interpretation of the or biblical genesis
accounts.
The Creationist ideals reject scientific evidence
of evolution and creation of the universe in
millions of years such as fossils,
carbon dating, tree ring analysis, and evolution
itself.
9. Evolution & Science: why?
Scientific communities around the world stand by Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and his
research on the link between life on Earth and evolution by natural selection. The basic scientific
idea of evolution is gradual change over time through descent with genetic modification and
inheritance. Natural selection is the idea that “stronger” genes, genes that aid a species in
surviving and reproducing, will be passed on to the next generation. On the other hand, weaker
genes will not allow a species to reproduce and will be removed from the gene pool. As Richard
Dawkins puts it, “Design is as bad an explanation as chance because it raises bigger questions
than it answers. Evolution by
natural selection is the only workable theory ever
proposed that is capable of explaining life, and
it does so brilliantly.”
10. Modern Conflict -- Religion and Climate Change
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11. Religion and Climate Change
Within the past two decades, scientists and environmentalists have
vigorously promoted the importance of climate change and the steps
that need to be done in order to curve it. Churches are largely split
down the middle when it comes to believing the legitimacy and
importance of climate change. Many Christian denominations firmly
believe that climate change is merely liberal propaganda, their god is in
control, and that it does not matter anyway because they believe the
end of times is near. People like Republican candidate and active
Christian political figure Ted Cruz insist that “climate change is not
science, it’s religion”, meaning that climate change is just an idea that
people are pouring opinions into without any factual support (Page,
2015). The problem here is that mainstream science treats evidence
that global climate change is real as scientific fact, not an idea that can
be disputed as a belief. This kind of conflict creates the stalemate that
does not allow progress in solving issues related to climate change
(Bernard and Szasz, 2015).
12. Religion and Climate Change
Though there are religious institutions that choose not to believe that climate change is a
legitimate issue, there are also those who believe in the urgency of supporting the global
movement to curb climate change. The moderate Protestants and Catholics, as well as the majority of
the other major religions like Buddhism and Islam, have shown much support for “green” efforts. Many
representatives of these religions have released statements showing support and urging followers to
promote the cause to fight climate change, such as “A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change” signed
by many representatives of Buddhism that calls followers to “bring the resources of Buddhism on behalf
of all living beings” and use the
four noble truths as the framework to solve the
issue(Time to Act is Now, 2015). Statements like these
that urge unity towards working for a common goal
show that it is possible for groups of people to overcome
their differences and core beliefs to make the world a
better place.
13. Religion and Climate Change
While there is obvious conflict between some churches and scientists on whether or not climate change
is real problem (or even real), it cannot be disputed that the evidence that supports climate change
remains fact. There needs to be a common ground that dogmatic religious institutions reach that
supports the reduction of factors contributing climate change in order to preserve the resources and
ecosystems our earth supports. As representatives of Islam declare in “Islamic Declaration on Global
Climate Change”, “what will future generations say of us, who leave them a degraded planet as our
legacy?”(Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change, 2015).
This is just one of the many examples of religion and science in modern day. It is obvious that people’s
ideals are split into polar opposites and generalizations, and in order for people to make progress within
science and keep religion, they must reach a common ground with their beliefs by putting their religion
aside to act toward a common goal.
14. Sources
"Pilgrims and Puritans: Background." Virginia.edu. 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/puritan/purhist.html>.
"From Geocentrism to Heliocentrism." Futurism. 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://futurism.com/from-geocentrism-to-
heliocentrism/>.
Zaleha, Bernard, and Andrew Szasz. "Why Conservative Christians Don't Believe in Climate Change." Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientist. 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015. <http://bos.sagepub.com/content/71/5/19.full.pdf html>.
Page, Samantha. "Ted Cruz: ‘Climate Change Is Not Science. It's Religion.’." Climate Progress. 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
<http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/30/3717795/ted-cruz-doesnt-know-the-difference-between-science-and-religion/>.
"The Time to Act Is Now." Interfaith Power and Light. 14 May 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
<http://fore.yale.edu/files/Buddhist_Climate_Change_Statement_5-14-15.pdf>. (slide 11)
"Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change." International Islamic Climate Change Symposium. 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
<http://islamicclimatedeclaration.org/islamic-declaration-on-global-climate-change/>. (slide 12)
15. Sources
Understanding Evolution. 2015. University of California Museum of Paleontology. 22 August 2008
<http://evolution.berkeley.edu/>.
Dawkins, Richard. "Big Ideas: Evolution." New Scientist. N.p., 14 Sept. 2005. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"Bibleview." Bibleview. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://bibleview.org/en/bible/genesis/7days/>.
