by Dee Holder

Created on: December 12, 2009   Last Updated: December 13, 2009

There was a time when there was no difference between science and religion.  The peoples of the earth looked around them and used simple observation to note and understand the world around them.  This gave them better crops, the ability to build better houses, to clothe themselves and so on.  What they could not explain with simple observation, they used religion to explain.  Thus they knew that rain made their crops grow better so after observing that seasons were cyclical they planted their crops when they knew the rains were most likely to occur.  However, having no way of knowing what drove the seasons; they attributed this to the work of gods. 

For a long time there was a unity between the observation of the physical world (science) and that which could not be explained (religion).  As societies became more complex, so did the science and so did the religion.  What many fail to understand is that many of the great names in science were also very religious; some like Mendel the father of genetics (and in a way evolution) were even monks.  So long as science did not challenge the church and the church did not make too many demands on science, the two lived side by side in harmony.

In the past many scientists were also philosophers, artists, musicians and poets. As mentioned before, many were very deeply religious.  This men and women made important discoveries that we still benefit from to this day.  Their diverse interests allowed them to make inferences in one field from their experiences in others.  They were jacks of all trades.

However, as societies became even more complex science became a more important part of societies as it was needed to build factories, provide energy and medicate the sick.  Observations that were previously explained by religion were now being challenged by science, "No, the sun does not rotate around the earth; it is the other way around."  "No, the earth was not created in six days."  "A dragon does not eat the moon during an eclipse; it is simply the shadow of the earth falling on her face!" And, "No, we are reasonably sure that at the center of the earth is a metal core that and heaven is made up of galaxies and black holes, not a choir of angels and gods."

Religion and science began to part way:    one finding its core values being challenged, the other finding its new discoveries being stifled.  Religion has a big advantage over science

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>