HPQ: To what extent is there conflict between Christianity and science?

Introduction

Religion and science have always had an intriguing relationship – there have been many opinions on
the topic as some have said they are compatible whereas others have said they contradict each
other. The main theory that historians have used to group their findings is the “conflict thesis” which
originated in the 19th century which is the idea that science and religion are always opposed to each
other. The so called ‘scientific revolution’ in the 16th and 17th century was also said to be a significant
part in the history of scientific development but many have used it as evidence to depict the conflict
between the two bodies with the Galileo incident in 1633 used as evidence to support this
statement. Other pieces of history have been used to argue for the other side of the argument that
Christianity and science are both separate entities and answer completely separate questions so
there is no apparent conflict. There are many pieces of evidence to support both sides of the
question and we will analyse and evaluate key events in the history of science to judge if both
science and Christianity are more in conflict or not. More importantly, I will look for slightly more
modern events in history as they prove to be more relatable to us when making a judgement – thus,
we are most probably able to make the most accurate conclusion on the question: To what extent is
there conflict with Christianity and science?

The Scientific Revolution

Background

Prior to the Scientific Revolution, the Greeks’ views of nature had dominated the world for 2000
years with philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato introducing their views of nature to the world.
They both focused on the topic of metaphysics which is the field of philosophy that is mainly focused
on how reality and the universe began and was created. Plato's philosophy about the natural world
was more abstract and theoretical whereas Aristotle’s philosophy about gaining knowledge about
nature was through observation of nature and by logic. Platonic views were popular during the early
Middle Ages but slowly died away in society. Not until the 12th century were Aristotelian views
reintegrated back into Europe by a Christian scholar called Thomas Aquinas. This set the foundation
for the Scientific Revolution with experimental and observational science forming a major aspect of
scientific development later seen in the Scientific Revolution.

Scientific developments in the Scientific Revolution

There were numerous achievements and new scientific developments predominantly found in the
16th and 17th centuries. Scientists such as Galilei Galileo, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Nicolaus
Copernicus, Rene Descartes, Johannes Kepler, Francis Boyle, and many others. Some revolutionary
discoveries by them were:

 3 laws of physics (Isaac Newton)

 The Earth not being stationary in space and it revolving around the sun (Nicolaus
Copernicus)
 The heliocentric model (Galilei Galileo)
 The 3 laws of planetary motion (Johannes Kepler)
 Use of the experimental method in chemistry (Robert Boyle)
 Contributing to the scientific method and utilizing inductive reasoning (Francis Bacon)
 Promoting the practice of deductive reasoning and contributing to the scientific method
(Rene Descartes)
  The creation of the Scientific Method (all scientists contributing through their respective
discoveries in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics)

These were just some of the few major and ingenious scientific discoveries by some of the scientists
in the so-called Scientific Revolution.

Science and Christianity compatible in the Scientific Revolution

A widely common viewpoint to support the compatibility between Christianity and science was
based on all of the scientific developments throughout the Scientific Revolution. Many believe that if
the Church wanted to limit the extent of the scientific development throughout the Revolution, they
would have done so as they possessed the power and influence in Europe in which they could have
done this. Why did science develop immensely during this period if the Church did not approve of
the scientific theories being stated or if they did not correspond to the Bible’s notion of the world?
This type of question is widely asked as Christianity was the predominant religion in Europe so the
Church did have a lot of authority – many believed that both domains are in conflict with one
another which is why this view is widely deduced to support the compatibility between Christianity
and Science

Science and Christianity in conflict in the Scientific Revolution

The Galileo Incident 1633: One of the most renowned events of conflict between Christianity and
science is the Church forced Galilei Galileo to recant his discoveries that the Earth orbited the Sun.
Following on from Nicolaus Copernicus’ heliocentric theory that planets orbited the Sun, Galilei
Galileo expanded on that but was proclaimed directly heretical by the Roman Catholic Church as it
was contradictory to what the Bible said about the Earth being the centre of the universe and other
planets orbiting us humanity was God’s creation. As a result, Galileo was forced to recant his
theories and was imprisoned by the Roman Catholic Church. This major historic event can be seen as
conflict between Christianity and science with the religion trying to preserve its beliefs without there
being any opposition by other bodies such as science – we can see this with the Church taking direct
action against Galileo in order to protect its religion.

The Death and Torturing of Giordano Bruno: Giordano Bruno, a 16th century Italian philosopher (and
former Catholic priest), was burned at the stake in the middle of the square of Campo de Fiori in
Rome in the year 1600. To further escalate the horrific nature of his execution, Bruno’s tongue had
been fastened to a metal clamp and he was publicly stripped naked. This was all caused by his
‘heretical’ ideas against the Roman Catholic Church so was executed by them as a result. His
heretical considered ideas were that the universe may be infinite, populated with many other worlds
and that our planet only occupied a miniscule part of space. He outlined larger scale aspects of
cosmology with scientists such as Copernicus and Kepler mistakenly believing the sun is at the centre
of the universe and that the universe is spherical. However, the Roman Catholic Church condemned
his ‘heretical’ ideas, which Bruno refused to recant. This murderous act by the Church is another
crucial piece of history that supports that both scientific development and Christianity are truly in
conflict as it goes to show the true extent that the Church went to defend its religious beliefs.

Evolution theory by Charles Darwin

Context: In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book called ‘On the Origin of Species’ which was about
the theory that all living creatures that exist today, including human beings, have evolved over a
period of millions of years from more primitive life forms to what we are today through a process
called natural selection. The source then goes on to talk about how Darwin was a Christian and he
did not intend to challenge religious beliefs with his new theory but enraged many religious Christian
followers due to it clashing with some of their views.

How evolution theory is in conflict with Christian beliefs: Firstly, Christianity believes that God is
omnipotent so therefore, created everything on Earth as we see today. However, Darwin’s theory
seems to go against these religious teachings as it says that all current living organisms have come
about due to the process of natural selection where individual organisms with characteristics most
suited to the environment are more likely to survive to breed successfully and the characteristics
that have enabled these individual organisms to survive are then passed on to the next generation
Next, Darwin’s theory of evolution also depicts that humans on Earth were created over a period of
millions and millions of years. In contrast, Christianity believes that humans were created by God on
the sixth day of creation. Another conflicting part of the evolution theory was the fact that it said
that humans evolved from more primitive forms i.e., monkeys. Christianity believes that God had
created humans ‘in his own image’ so humans are superior to all other creatures rather than us
evolving from other species that Christians believe are inferior to us. In addition, the idea in Darwin’s
theory that creatures adapt to their environment in order to survive, conflicts with the Christian
belief that God created a perfect environment for them. Lastly, the theory of evolution also seems to
challenge the Christian belief that God himself designed the universe and that the universe’s beauty,
complexity and order is all due to God’s design.

How the theory of evolution is thought to be compatible with Christian beliefs: The main argument
to support the compatibility of the evolution theory and Christian beliefs is the fact that God planned
everything to occur in this manner and he purposely created the Earth to form like this. By this I
mean that God is seen to have complete control over the creation of the universe and the Genesis
creation story (the process that God created the universe in 7 days) emphasises this. The Christian
belief of intelligent design links with this as they believe that God meticulously planned and designed
how the creation of the universe would be so each change in the universe is due to God’s work and
what he desired to occur. The idea of theistic evolution, as a result, started to grow – this meaning
the belief that God controls evolution. Another reason why evolution and Christianity is believed to
be compatible is due to the time period when their ideas were established. Darwin’s theory was put
forward just over 150 years ago with the Genesis creation story being at least 2,500 years old. As a
result, people have come to realise that both sets of ideas can’t be compared with each other as
they were both written in completely different times – the world had drastically changed. Linking
with this, the Genesis creation story is also thought not to be giving a scientific answer to how the
world was created but is rather concerned with making it clear that God is in complete control of
how the world is, whatever that may be. Darwin’s theory of evolution was concerned with the actual
scientific process to how humans and other living organisms were created so again, both cannot
really be compared with each other.

The Scopes Monkey Trial

The Scopes Monkey Trial occurred in the US during the roaring twenties in the 20 th century. This is
the most recent (yet still notable) event that I will be evaluating.

For some context, much of Europe and the US saw economic growth and widespread prosperity
during this decade hence the name ‘the roaring twenties.’ It also saw much more freedom,
exploration and innovation in areas such as entertainment, fashion and appearances which lead to
many pursuing a somewhat immortal lifestyle. This shift was called the Progressive Movement.
However, there were opponents to this transition and new conservative lifestyle. A large proportion
of critics were religious fundamentalists (i.e., those who take literal interpretations of their religious
scriptures – in this case, they believed the Bible should be taken literally and only speaks of the
truth) and they attempted to limit this new look of the US. One way that these religious
fundamentalists tried to instil back commitment in the Bible was by enacting laws requiring schools
to teach the theory of creationism. People who believe in creationism usually contend that God
created human life, Adam and Eve, and that all people are descended from these two humans.
Tennessee was one of the states in which the religious fundamentalists had success. In 1925, the
Tennessee government enacted a law that made it illegal "for any teacher in any of the universities,
normal and all other public schools of the state to teach any theory that denies the story of the
divine creation of man as taught in the Bible and to teach instead that man has descended from a
lower order of animals."

In the same year, John Scopes, a biology teacher in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, disobeyed
the law. He taught the theory of evolution, which states that human beings evolved from lesser life
forms. As a result, he was trialled and was found guilty – Scopes had lost his job and was forced to
pay a one hundred dollar fine.

In my opinion, the Scopes Monkey Trial clearly shows how in the modern era, religion and science is
far less in conflict with each other. First of all, the fact that it wasn’t the whole US population, who
were predominantly Christian, that argued with this new Progressive Movement; it was the religious
fundamentalists who are extreme devout believers of their religion and take their literal meanings.
No matter how far the world progresses, there will always be religious fundamentalists and the
cannot be eradicated – Darwinism there was a worldview non acceptance of his theory