Science Vs Religion Research Paper

Though religion may be that which determines the goal, it has, nevertheless, learned from science, in the broadest sense, what means will contribute to the attainment of the goals it has set up. But science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding.

The word "science" probably brings many different pictures into your mind, some being: a fat textbook, white lab coats, microscopes, an astronomer looking through a telescope, a naturalist in the rainforest, Einstein's equations scribbled on a board, the launch of the space shuttle, bubbling beakers.... All of those images reflect some aspect of science, but none of them provides a full picture of what science completely is. Science is defined to be the knowledge attained through study or practice, or knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, especially as obtained and tested through scientific method and concerned with the physical world.

When comparing science and religion there has been a great rift. As long as humanity has believed in a creator there as always been thinkers trying to quantify and evaluate the truth behind religion, trying to disprove or prove a supernatural force.

When dwelling into the explorations about science and religion, one can find it quite amusing. "If science and religion are to continue to coexist it seems opposed to the conditions of modern thought to admit that this result can be brought about by the so-called

The conflict between science and religion has always been existed. In many religious institutions, especially Muslim and Jewish, belief in Darwinism or other scientific theories is forbidden (Ferngren, 2002). Therefore, scientific studies in faith schools subsequently differ from normal school one’s. For example, Dawkins (2006) argues that faith schools tend only to teach children in a religious way, avoiding such important curriculums such as science and humanism. Similarly, Cush(2005) states that faith schools provide limited choice of scientific and sociological subjects. The knowledge of science basics is compulsory for every decent citizen in the age of new technologies and scientific humanity progress.

How was the universe created? As a Catholic, myself and others are to believe and understand that God is the creator of everything. As a scientist or astronomer, the answer seems as something we do not have the intelligence to perceive. Religion is something people are very devout about. Science is something people are very curious about. I've always wondered about the connection between science and religion, or if there is a connection in the first place. However, it seemed as though my questions will never be answered. Then, one day, I was handed a paper, and on it, there was the question I've always have asked, it read,"Science vs Catholicism". I knew automatically that this would be my topic, something I was able to relate to.

The relationship between science and religion is an arguably rigid one, the two topics presently posing contrasting ideas in modern society. However, this relationship has been varied over the course of time, in particular the nineteenth century. We can put forth the argument that it was not necessarily as simple as the two being mutually exclusive concepts that continuously opposed each other; rather the two held a complicated relationship. These apparent conflicts between science and religion can often be resultant of more complex debates, for example concerning political power. It can also be seen that there was a continually shifting boundary between the two subjects, making it merely reductionist to say the two were in conflict. Science and religion were in conflict to the extent that both these concepts were adapting to the contemporary world, sometimes causing them to clash.

In The Convergence of Science and Religion, Dr. Charles Townes asserts that as the success of scientific discoveries increases, so do the conflicts between religion and science. Dr. Townes, who opposes the common widely held belief that science and religion significantly vary in their natures, claims that in making this decision an individual will approach the matter in a predictable way. Some individuals he proclaims view the two as separate in nature and as such he claims that individuals will separate the two by their intents and their methodologies so that neither can discredit the other (Townes, 1966). In much of the same manner, he asserts that others will be drawn closer to one viewpoint, be it science or religion, and ultimately regard the other with little value or in some instances “potentially harmful” (Townes, 1966). Lastly, as Dr. Townes does, a distinct sect of individuals may be of the opinion that the two belief systems are universal and in many ways rely on many of the same

On the other hand, science is the study of nature along with its forces, processes and development. It is solely based on analysis of evidence. According to science, no supreme being is in control of humankind. As a functioning hypothesis, all events occur due to natural causes and not through divine intervention. In science, every man is responsible for any behavior he exhibits. Basis of ethical behavior is not influenced by religion. There should be a reason for each action and that action must be

"That which science refuses to grant to religion is not its right to exist, but its right to dogmatize upon the nature of things and the special competence which it claims for itself for knowing man and the world. As a matter of fact, it does not know itself. It does not even know what it is made of, nor to what need it answers." (Durkheim,

Today in the Twenty-First Century, the world revolves around science, minds that think in a philosophical way are praised. This hasn’t always been the way of life, unfortunately, the geniuses of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had to endured many obstacles to get society to the way that it is. Religion has always and might always be the biggest hurdle one must jump, in history many men and women had to jump a lot higher than ones today. Three in specific went against religion in their time, Giordano Bruno, Francis Bacon, Robert Hooke. These men blew open the door for science and philosophy. Regrettably, with their greatest accomplishments came with some of the cruelest punishments.

Scientism is the belief that science is the only means of acknowledging reality, it is a philosophical thesis that focuses on facts. On the other hand, religion and spirituality involves the belief in science (to an extent) but also embraces the idea of God’s creations. The tension between scientism and religion, in my opinion, falls exclusively on the fact that science fails to explain absolutely everything. There are some things that just cannot be proven with facts alone. This gives the opportunity for religion/spirituality to fill in the gaps regarding morals and ethics. It is my belief that, as humans, we are simply terrified of the unknown. We feel the need to have an explanation for absolutely everything. When science falls short, religion/spirituality

History has shown that in the past, religion dominated as an explanation of knowledge and was used to explain many of the world's mysteries such as why the sun rises and sets and how the world came to be. Science, using concrete and tested evidence, gave light to many of these mysteries and debunked the myths created from religion. In today's modern society, science has advanced in a remarkable fashion. Science has broken down objects into structured molecules, found the genetic code that makes up an individual's DNA, and it even found a way to clone a sheep. Scientists of today are beginning to tread into territories that, some would argue, border along the lines of God's work. With science progressing the way it is, many believe that science and religion will forever be locked in conflict. However, neither side of the argument have truly been able to prove the existence of God. It is in this view that both, science and religion, should cooperate with each other to find the answer instead of senselessly bickering about which side is right.

The question over the compatibility/non-compatibility of Religion and Science is one topic whose relevance transcends space and time; this is partly due to the evolution of the subjects of Science over the years. Although there are about 4,200 Religions in the world, while there are about 6 Subject areas within Science; it is not uncommon to compare both as though they were single entities. Such comparisons are possible owing to the fact that the different Religions/Subject areas in Science have certain fundamental values common to them. While Religion is based on Faith and a belief system, Science relies on experimental evidence from which inferences are drawn.

Science is the study of the natural and physical aspects of the world we live in. Science is the way humans try to understand why the environment acts in the way it does. Science has set of rules and guidelines that must be followed. The most important step in science is observation, the point of observation is so that the experiment can be measured and or the experiment can be repeated with similar or the same results. Hypotheses are then developed to disprove the observation as many scientists believe hypothesis can never be proven. Opinions are not facts and are based on subjective influences. Opinions cannot be measured or disproven because it is personal. Science cannot address all the issues and concerns due to the limit and restrictions it has. The fact that not everything can be proven shows how science cannot address all the issues. Even though everyday mankind is creating new technology to help humans better understand nature, there will always be some elements that are beyond human capabilities.