Reading Connection #2

Religion vs. Science
In our modern society there are still some things that cannot be explained by science, and there are some things in the religious works that has been completely disproven. Science and religion however have always gone hand in hand, especially in the Catholic Church. Some of the first true scientists were men of the cloth; Science has also had the help from the church through the Vatican Observatory and the Pontifical Academy of Science. However it has had some serious hindrances indirectly in the form of public opinion. Some members of the church believe that different kinds of research are sacrilegious, like research into stem cells and evolution.
I’ll be the first to admit that some scientific research fields begin to tamper into things that mankind is better off not dealing with, genetic manipulation being the most predominant one. However there are some things that mankind has a right to know; In the case of evolution for example. There are certain religious elements that would have you believe that God really created the heavens and the earth in seven days, and that the earth as we know it is only 10,000 years old however science has proven with 100% certainty that the earth is over four billion years old. Science has also proven with 100% certainty that our ancestors were ape like creatures, yes I hate to break it to you religious fanatics out there we came from monkeys. These same religious elements also have tried to stop the teaching of evolution in schools during the famous Scopes Monkey trial. After that controversial trial it would still take a few decades and more court cases until creationism was no longer taught in school. Studying where we came from and where we are going can give us insights into who we are and at least start to answer some of the really big questions, like who we are and why we are here. One scientific field that the church has supported for several decades is the study of astronomy. Although the church didn’t avidly support astronomy at first with the trial and imprisonment of Galileo is has today with the construction of the Vatican Observatory and other departments to study dark matter, quasars, and other universal phenomena.
Even though the Vatican and other religious elements in the U.S. and abroad are suppoting different kinds of science it is hypocritical that they only support science that will add to or not take away from their own power base. For example if someone was trying to explain certain phenomena found in the bible, like the burning bush, the parting of the red sea, and several others the church would be against that because it would prove that god in some small way that god did not exist or that everything that we think we know about religion is wrong. Ultimately no matter what our belief there are just some things that science can’t explain and there are some things that we just have to take on faith.
Bibliography:
Mason, Michael. "How to Teach Science to the Pope." Discover Magazine. 18 August 2008. <http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope>
Robinson, B.A. “A brief history of the conflict between evolution and creation science.” Religious Tolerence.org. 12 August 2007. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_hist.htm>