• Question: Is there a link between religion and science?

    Asked by ladyj to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Laurel, Maria on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by petershan, aimeeenglish, tiyamikee.
    • Photo: Bridget Waller

      Bridget Waller answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Actually yes, throughout history there has been a relationship between the two, and each has influenced the other. Personally, I don’t think this is a great idea as it can introduce biases in scientific research.

    • Photo: Laurel Fogarty

      Laurel Fogarty answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      Another good question ladyj (and peter and aimee). There is a link. Whether you believe in God or not, religion is something that humans invented. How and why they did this is a really interesting question. Every culture has a religion of some kind so it does seem to be something that evolved in our brains.

      I would love to study this some day- I think it will be one of my next projects if I can convince my supervisor it is a good study!

      It is also worth saying that not all scientific ideas clash with religion. There are some very good religious scientists (in the vatican observatory for example). The problem only arises when religion is fundamentalist. That means that people following this kind of religion believe that religious texts should be taken literally and followed to the letter. Most Christians I know would say that the story of the Garden of Eden, for example, is a parable and a metaphor for how life really came about. Fundamentalist Christians would not and will disagree with the evidence for evolution on those grounds.

    • Photo: Ceri-Wyn Thomas

      Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      There was once a very strong link between religion and science! Nowadays this relationship isn’t as strong since religion and science encourage people to view the world in very different ways. Science requires evidence and experimentation to understand the world. Religion requires faith in something even when there is no evidence. You can use science to study the growth and development of religion. I don’t think it;s wise to use religion to better understand the nature of science though.

    • Photo: Betul Arslan

      Betul Arslan answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      Deep question. I will say, not has to be. Science is not working for religion anymore, it used to be but we are passed that stage in this century. I don’t have a religion and I think religious biased thoughts might limit people’s thinking -because each of them has it’s own limits- and I don’t think that is good for the sake of science. A scientist should not be biased and be objective as much as he/she can.

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