Conflict Between Science and Religion Essay - Free

Science and religion have always influenced each other and humankind itself. They both share a common goal: To understand existence. Yet the way these two subjects go about answering this sets them in disagreement. Science determines truth from observational data whereas religion claims truth from canons and higher, imperceptible forces. Religions inability to produce factual evidence for its claims and reliance on fantastic canons leaves the scientific community skeptical.

The Catholic church has been a grand patron in the advancement of science as a whole. The institute is responsible for founding a number of schools, hospitals, and universities. During the middle ages the monastery monks kept alive the dwindling practice of reading and writing in Europe. Moreover, several Catholic priests are credited with the discoveries of various sciences. Georgius Agricola founded Geology and methods of extracting minerals. This work inspired others to further his research into the subject. And Gregor Mendel discovered the science of Genetics with by his observations and research into pollination process. Astronomy was kept alive with the help of the Catholic church. The Gregorian calendar was a product of the church, enacted after the Julian calendar started falling out of cycle. All this work was funded by the church and would not have been possible without. Yet subjects that did not fall into the religious paradigm were (and mostly still are) off limits.

Perhaps the most well known example of conflict between science and religion comes from Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). He was persecuted for supporting the Heliocentric model of the universe. This challenged the accepted scriptures of Aristotle’s geocentric ideas and as deemed heresy.

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Galileo was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life and all related work to the Heliocentric model banned. At the time, the church refused to acknowledge new information that challenged the old accepted teachings of Aristotle. The old ways of Aristotle were thought to be unchallengeable, almost akin to the bible in it’s authority. The knowledge of the cosmos at the time of Galileo thought of the heavens, our solar system, as perfect and unchanging. Through Galileo’s observation of the moon and sun, he discovered that the moon is indeed changing, that the craters and sunspots are a transitory phenomenon. This scientific pursuit told the truth and was condemned as heresy.

Galileo was not the only scientist condemned for controversial new theories. The struggle between science and religion further escalated in the 19th century with the works put forth by Charles Darwin. His book, On the Origins of Species, gives a contrary explanation of mans creation. Rather than an omnipotent being creating the universe instantaneously ten thousand years ago, Darwin suggests man and the world is much older and evolved by natural selection over thousands of years. Darwin’s research was worked out over the course decades and did not formed spontaneously by high revelation. Instead, he spent an extensive amount of time cataloging species and geological formations on his five year campaign to the South American coast. The finding on the Galapagos Islands proved critical for his fledgling understanding of evolution. Here he observed species like no other. They evolved uniquely to their habitat and were significantly different than their brethren on the nearby islands. To Darwin, these subtle changes he observed meant species evolved over time and continue to do so. Not everyone could see this as clearly when he published his work. The notion of man evolving from ape was cast as heresy amongst religious groups. Still, this conflict is still relevant today. There is a large pool of people who refuse to acknowledge this theory as viable means to understand human the origins of man.

In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein more off limits science comes out with the notion of man playing God appears. Traditional religious thought believes man should not tamper with such matters. Practically, this notion has hindered scientific investigation into stem cell research. Throughout the Bush Administration time in power, stem cell research struggled to find adequate funds. The basis of this problem came from the religious views of President Bush and his administration. He is quoted saying “My position on these issues is shaped by deeply held beliefs, I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our creator.” Further, policies of abortion are continually protested in the sake of religious ideology. The pursuit of stem cell research and abortion would likely not have been obstructed if not for the religious ideology.

Most religions have a canon by which their moral code is derived. The beliefs gained from these books often times conflicts with scientific pursuit. From a scientific vantage point these religious views look illogical. During the era of the film Kinsey, American society was more so than today influenced by the traditional Christian theology. The film shows he was eventually cut off from funding as his research into sex became too overbearing for the majority. Kinsey’s rejection demonstrates the discrepancy between the influence of religion and scientific pursuit.

His argument was that society made certain sexual behaviors off limits, but that it is human nature to indulge in sexual activities outside of what is considered normal. 

A look into the sexual history of mankind shows evidence of this. An example can be found in the the Ancient Greeks. The Spartans ‘knew’ each other, it was said this made the warrior bond stronger among them. Further, Alexander the Great was known to have sexual relations with one of his officers named Hephaestion. Not all of the men participated in this, but those that did were neither gay nor straight, the terms did not exist. It was not seen as taboo but rather normal instead. Kinsey’s findings on human sexuality, however, were treated as sacrilegious.

Antiquity was not devoid of religious-scientific strife either. A prominent figure in Ancient Greece, Socrates, challenged the prevailing status quo of Athens society. His punishment is stark in contrast to Galileo's house arrest punishment, Socrates was put to death over his criticisms. He was charged with ‘corrupting the youth’ and denouncing the gods. His philosophical and political ideas were annoying to his contemporaries, so much so that Plato refers to him as a ‘gadfly’, spurring Athens into action like a gadfly to a horse. Although his death was untimely, he still lived to be around seventy years old and inspired the progress of the science of philosophy.

Socrates about to drink Hemlock 

In conclusion, religion and science have played important roles in the history of mankind. Religion has furthered science, but it’s ideology has also hindered the advancement and acceptance of select ideas. These scientific ideas are always challenging what is considered normal in society. Thus, if history repeats itself, scientific ideas will continue to cause friction against the traditional morality of religion.

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This is an essay I wrote for a film class around 10/19/2014. I received a 93/100. The word count is around 1130.

Source:

Park, Alice. "George W. Bush and the Stem Cell Research Funding Ban | ‘Legitimate Rape’? Todd Akin and Other Politicians Who Confused Science | TIME.com." Time. Time, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.