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The Positive Relationship Between Science and Religion

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The Positive Relationship Between Science and Religion
The Positive Relationship Between Science and Religion

Introduction:

Throughout history we can find many instances where religion was strongly opposed to scientific research. For example, the Catholic Church’s objection to Galileo’s defense of Copernicus’ heliocentric model where he offered his observations that he felt furthered the theory that the planets revolved around the Sun. At that time, the belief that the Holy Scriptures were perhaps inaccurate was one thing, but attempting to confirm it as Galileo tried to do was a completely different issue and resulted in Galileo being forbidden by the Church to write or teach his findings. Another example is the opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution by the majority of the Christians in America. 51% of those polled in 2005 by CBS believe God created humans exactly as they are today and reject evolution despite the evidence to the contrary. Even well-known scientists such as astronomer Allan Sandage stated his belief in creationism when he said "I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing." (Willford)

Whether this belief or a combination of beliefs are correct or not is not of debate in this paper. Instead in this paper I hope to highlight some of the instances where religion and science were not at odds and, in fact, where religion encouraged the scientific thought and research of the time. I have included examples where a scientist was moved by the teachings of his religion as well as examples of a religious organization outright participating in scientific research, such as the funding of adult stem cell research by the Vatican. In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Cardinal Rigali commented on this research by saying “The Catholic Church's rich heritage of ethical teaching in the medical-moral area and her duty to



Bibliography: Absolute Astronomy –Louis Pasteur As quoted in The Literary Digest (18 October 1902) http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Louis_Pasteur Adult Stem Cell Research Network, Why is Adult Stem Cell Research Important? (2010) http://www.ascrnetwork.com/importance-of-adult-stem-cells.html Alfano, Sean, Majority Reject Evolution 51 Percent Believe God Created Humans (2005) CBS News Online Poll http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/22/opinion/polls/main965223.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody The American Heart Association, Stem Cell Research (2010) http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4757 Bracket, Anne, Theodicy: Where Would a Just God Be If Not In The Earthquake? (2001) http://www.wesleyheritagefoundation.org/articles/theodicy_bracket.pdf Catholic Encyclopedia, History of the Jesuits Before the 1773 Suppression (2009 http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20081208_dignitas-personae_en.html#_ftn53 Collins, Francis, Why this Scientist believes in God (2005) CNN U.S. http://articles.cnn.com/2007-04-03/us/collins.commentary_1_god-dna-revelation?_s=PM:US Dean, Cornelia, Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science (2005) New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/national/23believers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 Ebel, John, The Jesuit Science (2009) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445964/Louis-Pasteur/281412/Germ-theory-of-fermentation Gingerich, Owen, Islamic astronomy (1986) Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah, Hitler 's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, (1996) page 111 Alfred A Hannan, James, Medieval Science, the Church and Universities (2003) http://www.bede.org.uk/university.htm Haselhurst, Geoff, Quantum Theory: Max Planck (2010) http://www.spaceandmotion.com/quantum-theory-max-planck-quotes.htm Lillge, Wolfgang, The Case for Adult Stem Cell Research (2001) 21st Century Science and technology Magazine http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/winter01/stem_cell.html Lönnig, Wolf-Ekkehard, Max Planck about God and science (2002) Quelle: Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Abt. Va, Rep. 11 Planck, Nr. 1797. Maine Rabies Workgroup, Rabies Management Guide (2005) page 15 http://www.maine.gov/search?q=cache:6y5QvBO3jMAJ:www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/ddc/documents/RabiesManagementGuide2005.pdf++site:www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/ddc+white+pages&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 “Max Planck - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 29 Dec 2010 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1918/planck-bio.html Neale, Todd, Vatican Enters Field of Adult Stem Cell Research (2010) New World Encyclopedia, Society of Jesus (2008) http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jesuit NYC Regents Exam re: Islamic Golden Age (2010) Question 7

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