Only in the 19th century did the term “science” begin to be applied with the meaning that today, before that, “science” was dubbed “experimental philosophy” or “natural philosophy”. The term “scientist” appeared in 1834, by William Whewell, who standardized the expression to characterize practitioners of “natural philosophy”. Several philosophers of science have tried to delimit science from other ways to search for knowledge, especially religion. Like the term "science", the term "religion" also acquired its current meaning in the 19th century, at the time it meant worship or piety. Currently "religion" is defined as a cult rendered to a deity by a community, largely due to the early anthropologists such as Edward Tylor (Cruz, 2019). However, today, there is still disagreement on how to approach the theme “Science vs Religion” and at certain times we see both coming into conflict.
Ways to observe and speak about the relationship between science and religion
Someone who enthusiastically follows science and religion, often does not know how to approach each topic, without discrediting both. There are several ways to approach the theme “Science vs. Religion". Several models of how to approach the theme were outlined, by Dr. Jennifer Wiseman (Mitelman, 2012).
Contrast:
This model is possibly the way in which the majority of society links science and religion. The idea that science responds to "how?" and religion responds to "why?" This model became popular after Stephen Jay Gould argued that the teaching of science extends through empirical knowledge, that is, what the Universe is formed of (fact) and why it works like that (theory), however, the teaching of religion focuses on issues of moral value. Therefore, Science and Religion do not overlap (Mitelman, 2012). However, this model has some problems.
Science currently addresses issues such as meaning and morality while Religion has theories that the universe is constituted and made, so teaching ends up overlapping. Another question is that Science does not only question “how?”, Nor does Religion just “why?” (Mitelman, 2012). Science asks many questions like "why?" for example, "Why is the universe expanding?" or "Why does the human being have reasoning ability?" while religion also poses questions like “How did life originate?”. This model is the most favorable for someone linked to science who assumes to be religious, however, with the evolution of science in the fields that until then were explored by religion and when deepening the question of what religion is, this model no longer makes sense ( Mitelman, 2012).
Fig.1- Contrast model illustration
Concert:
Several people try to create a direct relationship between Science and Religion, and this model demonstrates this, being completely opposite to the previous model. This model is based on characterizing individuals attracted by faith and involved in some way with reason. However, this vision to equate science and religion has its problems and raises questions. Science is constantly evolving new facts are discovered and theories are subject to revision. If religion and science have a direct relationship, what happens to faith when new scientific evidence appears? It is not just the exact sciences, such as chemistry or physics, that are constantly updated, but all sciences - exact, biological and human. So, the big question is: if faith is based on science, what happens when the latter presents new arguments, facts and theories? (Mitelman, 2012).
For the proper functioning of this model, it is necessary that whoever applies it exerts a great mental exercise and forces the individual to maintain a basic reasoning of what is science and religion. Thus, although the model appears to be cohesive, it is in fact quite delicate, it is enough that science finds a new fact that goes against the religious beliefs for the individual to choose fundamentalism or atheism (Mitelman, 2012).
Fig.2- Concert model illustration
Conflict:
The conflict paradigm is the model that stands out the most, it is the most popular among the press and declares that science and religion are totally incompatible, however many individuals do not share this opinion. Thus, individuals zealously connected to each area direct the debate, and most do not see the existence of this conflict between science and religion as a direct shock. One problem with this model is that, as a rule, it causes superfluous reasoning and “ad hominem” incursions, leading to negative and aggressive reactions on both sides (Mitelman, 2012).
Fig. 3- Conflit model illustration
Contact:
In this model, science and religion have their own space, however, when appropriate, both can communicate with each other and provide several hypotheses for the same situation. This model recalls that without scientists, science did not exist, and that scientific knowledge not only provides clarifications and knowledge, but also their personal experiences, passions and curiosities that pursue them. Similarly, personal experiences end up influencing individuals' religious outlook. Therefore, when placing religion and science in the context of experiences, a pattern is identified: both evolve according to the needs of the population and are constantly victims of misrepresentation (Mitelman, 2012).
For the model to work correctly, the distinction between "Religion" and "God" is important, with "Religion" being defined as an attempt to understand God, having a limited view, while "God" is defined as something greater than the human being. Therefore, when it is forgotten that religion is not divine, but human, individuals who claim to have a conception with God easily fall under arrogance and are extremely conservative (Mitelman, 2012).
Fig.4- Contact model illustration
Science vs. Religion
In the 4th century, the Catholic philosopher and theologian, Augustine of Hippo, concluded that certain episodes described in the Bible, such as "the creation" that is addressed in Genesis, should not be taken literally. Over time, in the 8th century, in the Middle East, schools and universities began to observe the implementation of scientific experimentation and investigation. Over the next 700 years, devout thinkers and scientists collected scientific data, which would prove to be pivotal during the 16th and 17th century, during the scientific revolution that took place in Europe. An Italian monk, Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, tried to combine Aristotle's scientific conception with Christian theology, which ended up being perpetuated until the middle of the 16th century (Cruz, 2019).
Fig. 5- Thomas Aquinas, Italian monk, who tried to combine Aristotle's scientific conception with Christian theology. (photograph taken from: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/158904.Thomas_Aquinas).
In 1543, the book “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” was published by a Polish priest, Nicolaus Copernicus, who argued that the sun would be at the center of the solar system, with the earth moving around it. In 1633, the inquisition placed Galileo Galilei under house arrest, censoring his works inspired by Copernicus, where he defended the heliocentric theory (Hannam, 2009). Isaac Newton, in 1687, published the book “Principia” where the laws of motion and gravity are described and shows an image of a mechanical universe where unbreakable and strict laws exist and are constantly applied. "Natural Theology" written by Wiliam Paley, and published in 1802, states that life shows evidence of a designer. "The origin of species" written by Charles Darwin in 1859 goes against the theory defended by Paley, and argues that living beings evolve over time, being subject to the process of natural selection. Darwin's book created an enormous tension between science and the church first in the United Kingdom, and then later, around the world (Masci, 2009).
Fig.6- Charles Darwin, naturalist, geologist, biologist and author of "Origins of species" (photograph taken from:https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/27/100-best-nonfiction-books-no-60-the-origin-of-species-charles-darwin-1859-revolutionary-and-readable).
In the 20th century, more precisely in the 1930s (1931), George Lemaitre, presents the “primordial atom hypothesis”, which was later dubbed the “Big Bang Theory”, claiming that the universe appeared at a single point in space and in time and that is constantly expanding. After twenty years, in 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson managed to discover the structure of DNA, which revolutionized the scientific world (Masci, 2009). The “Creation Science” movement originated in the 1960s, inspired by the book “The Genesis Flood” written by evangelical Christians John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, who argue that there are scientific facts that prove that the history of the Bible must be read exact way. Still in the 60s, cosmic microwave radiation was discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, which became a scientific phenomenon and helped confirm the “Big Bang Theory”. Thus, advancing to the 1990s, it was in 1992 that the Catholic Church recognized the censorship applied to Galileo as being a mistake, officially apologizing for its actions against the Italian scientist taken 350 years ago (Masci, 2009).
Fig.7- Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of DNA in Cambridge in 1953 (photograph taken from:https://dnalc.cshl.edu/view/16427-Gallery-19-James-Watson-and-Francis-Crick.html).
And in the 21st century?
In the 21st century, some disagreements between science and religion are still evident. In 2008, Malcolm Brown, head of public affairs for the Anglican church, published “Good Religion Needs Good Science”, where he admitted that when a new idea arises and that it tries to change the mentality and way of looking at the world, defenders of the old ideas will taking that as an attack and fighting against these new ideals, he also defended that institutions and people make mistakes, including Christians. However, the Anglican Church made it known, that the book portrayed an opinion, not being a formal apology (Gillan, 2008). It is not just the Anglican church that rejects Darwin's theory, evangelists are also very critical of the theory.
This year, the scientific community was forced to join forces to fight the pandemic that is being felt around the world. It is also a year, when the confrontation between science and religion has rekindled. The use of a mask is under discussion. After several scientific tests, the use of a mask proved to be effective in terms of decreasing the spread of expelled particles, and thus reducing the likelihood of new contagions. However, hundreds of people refuse to use it, and in some countries, the use of a mask is mandatory.
Fig.8- News headlines from 2014 to the present that account for the conflicts between science and religion
Science and religion throughout history have had several conflicts, where science has sometimes been harmed. The question that often arises is whether science today would be more evolved than it is today if religion had not prevented it. How to approach the theme “Science vs. Religion” is at the discretion of each individual and the way he receives scientific and religious information. Both seek answers, one finds answers in the form of proven facts and evidence, another finds them in Genesis and in faith. Therefore, Science and Religion will continue to have their conflicts throughout history.
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