Baháʼí Faith A fundamental principle of the
Baháʼí Faith is the harmony of religion and science.
Baháʼí scripture asserts that true science and true religion can never be in conflict.
`Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, stated that religion without science is superstition and that science without religion is materialism. He also admonished that true religion must conform to the conclusions of science.
Buddhism Buddhism and science have been regarded as compatible by numerous authors. Some philosophic and psychological teachings found in Buddhism share points in common with
modern Western scientific and philosophic thought. For example, Buddhism encourages the impartial investigation of nature (an activity referred to as
Dhamma-Vicaya in the
Pali Canon)—the principal object of study being oneself. Buddhism and science both show a strong emphasis on
causality. However, Buddhism does not focus on
materialism.
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th
Dalai Lama, mentions that empirical scientific evidence supersedes the traditional teachings of
Buddhism when the two are in conflict. In his book
The Universe in a Single Atom he wrote, "My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief that as in science, so in Buddhism, understanding the nature of reality is pursued by means of critical investigation." He also stated, "If scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false," he says, "then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims."
Christianity Among early Christian teachers,
Tertullian (c. 160–220) held a generally negative opinion of
Greek philosophy, while
Origen (c. 185–254) regarded it much more favorably and required his students to read nearly every work available to them. Earlier attempts at reconciliation of Christianity with
Newtonian mechanics appear quite different from later attempts at reconciliation with the newer scientific ideas of
evolution or
relativity.
Christian philosophers Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) held that scriptures can have multiple interpretations on certain areas where the matters were far beyond their reach, therefore one should leave room for future findings to shed light on the meanings. The "Handmaiden" tradition, which saw secular studies of the universe as a very important and helpful part of arriving at a better understanding of scripture, was adopted throughout Christian history from early on. Also the sense that God created the world as a self operating system is what motivated many Christians throughout the Middle Ages to investigate nature. Modern historians of science such as
J.L. Heilbron,
Alistair Cameron Crombie,
David Lindberg,
Edward Grant, Thomas Goldstein, and Ted Davis have reviewed the popular notion that medieval Christianity was a negative influence in the development of civilization and science. In their views, not only did the monks save and cultivate the remnants of ancient civilization during the barbarian invasions, but the medieval church promoted learning and science through its sponsorship of many universities which, under its leadership, grew rapidly in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Church's "model theologian", not only argued that reason is in harmony with faith, he even recognized that reason can contribute to understanding revelation, and so encouraged intellectual development. He was not unlike other medieval theologians who sought out reason in the effort to defend his faith. Some modern scholars, such as
Stanley Jaki, have claimed that Christianity with its particular
worldview, was a crucial factor for the emergence of modern science. David C. Lindberg states that the widespread popular belief that the Middle Ages was a time of ignorance and superstition due to the Christian church is a "caricature". According to Lindberg, while there are some portions of the classical tradition which suggest this view, these were exceptional cases. It was common to tolerate and encourage critical thinking about the nature of the world. The relation between Christianity and science is complex and cannot be simplified to either harmony or conflict, according to Lindberg. Lindberg reports that "the late medieval scholar rarely experienced the coercive power of the church and would have regarded himself as free (particularly in the natural sciences) to follow reason and observation wherever they led. There was no warfare between science and the church."
Ted Peters in
Encyclopedia of Religion writes that although there is some truth in the "Galileo's condemnation" story but through exaggerations, it has now become "a modern myth perpetuated by those wishing to see warfare between science and religion who were allegedly persecuted by an atavistic and dogma-bound ecclesiastical authority". During the
Enlightenment, a period "characterized by dramatic revolutions in science" and the rise of Protestant challenges to the authority of the Catholic Church via individual liberty, the authority of Christian scriptures became strongly challenged. As science advanced, acceptance of a literal version of the Bible became "increasingly untenable" and some in that period presented ways of interpreting scripture according to its spirit on its authority and truth. After the Black Death in Europe, there occurred a generalized decrease in faith in the Catholic Church. The "Natural Sciences" during the Medieval Era focused largely on scientific arguments. The Copernicans, who were generally a small group of privately sponsored individuals, were deemed Heretics by the Church in some instances. Copernicus and his work challenged the view held by the Catholic Church and the common scientific view at the time, yet according to scholar J. L. Heilbron, the Roman Catholic Church sometimes provided financial support to the Copernicans. In doing so, the Church did support and promote scientific research when the goals in question were in alignment with those of the faith, so long as the findings were in line with the rhetoric of the Church. A case example is the Catholic need for an accurate calendar. Calendar reform was a touchy subject: civilians doubted the accuracy of the mathematics and were upset that the process unfairly selected curators of the reform. The Roman Catholic Church needed a precise date for the Easter Sabbath, and thus the Church was highly supportive of calendar reform. The need for the correct date of Easter was also the impetus of cathedral construction. window
Education (1890).
Perspectives on evolution In recent history, the theory of
evolution has been at the center of some controversy between Christianity and science. Christians who accept a literal interpretation of the
biblical account of creation find incompatibility between
Darwinian evolution and their interpretation of the Christian faith.
Creation science or
scientific creationism is a branch of
creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for a literal reading of the
Genesis creation narrative in the
Book of Genesis and attempts to disprove generally accepted
scientific facts,
theories and
scientific paradigms about the geological history of the Earth,
cosmology of the early universe, the chemical origins of life and biological
evolution. It began in the 1960s as a
fundamentalist Christian effort in the United States to prove
Biblical inerrancy and falsify the scientific
evidence for evolution. It has since developed a sizable religious following in the United States, with creation science ministries branching worldwide. In 1925, The State of Tennessee passed the
Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of the theory of evolution in all schools in the state. Later that year, a similar law was passed in Mississippi, and likewise, Arkansas in 1927. In 1968, these "anti-monkey" laws were struck down by the
Supreme Court of the United States as unconstitutional, "because they established a religious doctrine violating both the
First and
Fourth Amendments to the
Constitution." Most scientists have rejected creation science for several reasons, including that its claims do not refer to natural causes and cannot be tested. In 1987, the
United States Supreme Court ruled that creationism is religion, not science, and cannot be advocated in
public school classrooms. In 2018, the
Orlando Sentinel reported that "Some private schools in Florida that rely on public funding teach students"
Creationism.
Theistic evolution attempts to reconcile Christian beliefs and science by accepting the scientific understanding of the age of the Earth and the process of evolution. It includes a range of beliefs, including views described as
evolutionary creationism, which accepts some findings of modern science but also upholds classical religious teachings about God and creation in Christian context.
Roman Catholicism While refined and clarified over the centuries, the
Roman Catholic position on the relationship between science and religion is one of harmony, and has maintained the teaching of
natural law as set forth by
Thomas Aquinas. For example, regarding scientific study such as that of evolution, the church's unofficial position is an example of
theistic evolution, stating that faith and scientific findings regarding human evolution are not in conflict, though humans are regarded as a special creation, and that the
existence of God is required to explain both
monogenism and the
spiritual component of human origins. Catholic schools have included all manners of scientific study in their curriculum for many centuries. Galileo once stated that "The intention of the
Holy Spirit is to teach us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go." In 1981, Pope
John Paul II, then leader of the
Roman Catholic Church, spoke of the relationship this way: "The Bible itself speaks to us of the origin of the universe and its make-up, not in order to provide us with a scientific treatise, but in order to state the correct relationships of man with God and with the universe. Sacred Scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth it expresses itself in the terms of the cosmology in use at the time of the writer".
Pope Francis, in his encyclical letter
Laudato si', affirms his opinion that "science and religion, with their distinctive approaches to understanding reality, can enter into an intense dialogue fruitful for both".
Influence of a biblical worldview on early modern science in a 13th-century copy of ''
L'Image du monde'' (c. 1246) According to
Andrew Dickson White's 1896 book
A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, a biblical world view affected negatively the progress of science through time. Dickinson also argues that immediately following the
Reformation matters were even worse. The interpretations of Scripture by Luther and Calvin became as sacred to their followers as the Scripture itself. For instance, when
Georg Calixtus ventured, in interpreting the Psalms, to question the accepted belief that "the waters above the heavens" were contained in a vast receptacle upheld by a solid vault, he was bitterly denounced as heretical. Today, much of the scholarship in which the conflict thesis was originally based is considered to be inaccurate. For instance, the claim that early Christians rejected scientific findings by the Greco-Romans is false, since the "handmaiden" view of secular studies was seen to shed light on theology. This view was widely adapted throughout the early medieval period and afterwards by theologians (such as Augustine) and ultimately resulted in fostering interest in knowledge about nature through time. Also, the claim that people of the
Middle Ages widely believed that the
Earth was flat was first propagated in the same period that originated the conflict thesis and is still very common in popular culture. Modern scholars regard this claim as mistaken, as the contemporary historians of science
David C. Lindberg and
Ronald L. Numbers write: "there was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [earth's] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference." From the fall of Rome to the time of Columbus, all major scholars and many vernacular writers interested in the physical shape of the earth held a spherical view with the exception of Lactantius and
Cosmas.
H. Floris Cohen argued for a biblical Protestant, but not excluding Catholicism, influence on the early development of modern science. He presented Dutch historian
R. Hooykaas' argument that a biblical world-view holds all the necessary antidotes for the hubris of Greek rationalism: a respect for manual labour, leading to more experimentation and
empiricism, and a supreme God that left nature open to emulation and manipulation. Oxford historian
Peter Harrison is another who has argued that a biblical worldview was significant for the development of modern science. Harrison contends that Protestant approaches to the book of scripture had significant, if largely unintended, consequences for the interpretation of the book of nature. Harrison has also suggested that literal readings of the Genesis narratives of the Creation and Fall motivated and legitimated scientific activity in seventeenth-century England. For many of its seventeenth-century practitioners, science was imagined to be a means of restoring a human dominion over nature that had been lost as a consequence of the Fall. Historian and professor of religion
Eugene M. Klaaren holds that "a belief in divine creation" was central to an emergence of science in seventeenth-century England. The philosopher
Michael Foster has published analytical philosophy connecting Christian doctrines of creation with empiricism. Historian William B. Ashworth has argued against the historical notion of distinctive mind-sets and the idea of Catholic and Protestant sciences. Historians James R. Jacob and Margaret C. Jacob have argued for a linkage between seventeenth-century
Anglican intellectual transformations and influential English scientists (e.g.,
Robert Boyle and
Isaac Newton).
John Dillenberger and
Christopher B. Kaiser have written theological surveys, which also cover additional interactions occurring in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Philosopher of Religion, Richard Jones, has written a philosophical critique of the "dependency thesis" which assumes that modern science emerged from Christian sources and doctrines. Though he acknowledges that modern science emerged in a religious framework, that Christianity greatly elevated the importance of science by sanctioning and religiously legitimizing it in the medieval period, and that Christianity created a favorable social context for it to grow; he argues that direct Christian beliefs or doctrines were not primary sources of scientific pursuits by natural philosophers, nor was Christianity, in and of itself, exclusively or directly necessary in developing or practicing modern science. Historian
Ronald L. Numbers stated that this thesis "received a boost" from mathematician and philosopher
Alfred North Whitehead's
Science and the Modern World (1925). Numbers has also argued, "Despite the manifest shortcomings of the claim that Christianity gave birth to science—most glaringly, it ignores or minimizes the contributions of ancient Greeks and medieval Muslims—it too, refuses to succumb to the death it deserves." The sociologist
Rodney Stark of
Baylor University, argued in contrast that "Christian theology was essential for the rise of science." Protestantism had an important influence on science. According to the
Merton Thesis there was a positive
correlation between the rise of
Puritanism and
Protestant Pietism on the one hand and early
experimental science on the other. The Merton Thesis has two separate parts: Firstly, it presents a theory that science changes due to an accumulation of observations and improvement in experimental techniques and
methodology; secondly, it puts forward the argument that the popularity of science in 17th-century England and the religious
demography of the
Royal Society (English scientists of that time were predominantly Puritans or other Protestants) can be explained by a
correlation between Protestantism and the scientific values. In his theory,
Robert K. Merton focused on English Puritanism and
German Pietism as having been responsible for the development of the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. Merton explained that the connection between
religious affiliation and interest in science was the result of a significant synergy between the
ascetic Protestant values and those of modern science. Protestant values encouraged scientific research by allowing science to study God's influence on the world and thus providing a religious justification for scientific research. Other scholars and historians attribute Christianity to having contributed to the rise of the
Scientific Revolution.
Reconciliation in Britain in the early 20th century In
Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-twentieth-century Britain, historian of biology
Peter J. Bowler argues that in contrast to the conflicts between science and religion in the U.S. in the 1920s (most famously the
Scopes Trial), during this period Great Britain experienced a concerted effort at reconciliation, championed by intellectually conservative scientists, supported by liberal theologians but opposed by younger scientists and secularists and
conservative Christians. These attempts at reconciliation fell apart in the 1930s due to increased social tensions, moves towards
neo-orthodox theology and the acceptance of the
modern evolutionary synthesis. In the 20th century, several
ecumenical organizations promoting a harmony between science and Christianity were founded, most notably the
American Scientific Affiliation,
The Biologos Foundation,
Christians in Science,
The Society of Ordained Scientists, and
The Veritas Forum.
Confucianism and traditional Chinese religion The historical process of Confucianism has largely been antipathic towards scientific discovery. However the religio-philosophical system itself is more neutral on the subject than such an analysis might suggest. In his writings On Heaven,
Xunzi espoused a proto-scientific world view. However, during the Han Synthesis the more anti-empirical
Mencius was favored and combined with
Daoist skepticism regarding the nature of reality. Likewise, during the medieval period,
Zhu Xi argued against technical investigation and specialization proposed by Chen Liang. After contact with the West, scholars such as
Wang Fuzhi would rely on Buddhist/Daoist skepticism to denounce all science as a subjective pursuit limited by humanity's fundamental ignorance of the true nature of the world. The Jesuits from Europe taught Western math and science to the Chinese bureaucrats in hopes of religious conversion. This process saw several challenges of both European and Chinese spiritual and scientific beliefs. The keynote text of Chinese scientific philosophy,
The Book of Changes (or Yi Jing) was initially mocked and disregarded by the Westerners. In return, Confucian scholars Dai Zhen and Ji Yun found the concept of phantoms laughable and ridiculous.
The Book of Changes outlined orthodoxy cosmology in the Qing, including
yin and
yang and the five cosmic phases. However, the European mission eastward did not only cause conflict. Joachim Bouvet, a theologian who held equal respect for both the Bible and the Book of Changes, was productive in his mission of spreading the Christian faith.
Hinduism is regarded as
goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science. In
Hinduism, the dividing line between objective sciences and spiritual knowledge (
adhyatma vidya) is a linguistic paradox. Hindu scholastic activities and ancient Indian scientific advancements were so interconnected that many
Hindu scriptures are also ancient scientific manuals and vice versa. In 1835, English was made the primary language for teaching in higher education in India, exposing Hindu scholars to Western secular ideas; this started
a renaissance regarding religious and philosophical thought. Hindu sages maintained that logical argument and rational proof using
Nyaya is the way to obtain correct knowledge. Hinduism offers methods to correct and transform itself in course of time. For instance, Hindu views on the development of life include a range of viewpoints in regards to
evolution,
creationism, and the
origin of life within the traditions of
Hinduism. For instance, it has been suggested that Wallace-Darwininan evolutionary thought was a part of Hindu thought centuries before modern times. The Shankara and the Sāmkhya did not have a problem with the theory of evolution, but instead, argued about the existence of God and what happened after death. These two distinct groups argued among each other's philosophies because of their texts, not the idea of evolution. With the publication of Darwin's
On the Origin of Species, many Hindus were eager to connect their scriptures to Darwinism, finding similarities between Brahma's creation, Vishnu's incarnations, and evolution theories. – •
Pratyakṣa or
Dṛṣṭam – direct sense perception, •
Anumāna –
logical
inference and •
Śabda or
Āptavacana – verbal testimony.
Nyaya, the Hindu school of logic, accepts all these 3 means and in addition accepts one more –
Upamāna (comparison). The accounts of the emergence of life within the universe vary in description, but classically the
deity called
Brahma, from a
Trimurti of three deities also including
Vishnu and
Shiva, is described as performing the act of 'creation', or more specifically of 'propagating life within the universe' with the other two deities being responsible for 'preservation' and 'destruction' (of the universe) respectively. In this respect some Hindu schools do not treat the scriptural
creation myth literally and often the creation stories themselves do not go into specific detail, thus leaving open the possibility of incorporating at least some theories in support of evolution. Some Hindus find support for, or foreshadowing of evolutionary ideas in
scriptures, namely the
Vedas. The
incarnations of Vishnu (
Dashavatara) is almost identical to the scientific explanation of the sequence of
biological evolution of man and animals. The sequence of avatars starts from an aquatic organism (
Matsya), to an amphibian (
Kurma), to a land-animal (
Varaha), to a humanoid (
Narasimha), to a dwarf human (
Vamana), to 5 forms of well developed human beings (
Parashurama,
Rama,
Balarama/
Buddha,
Krishna,
Kalki) who showcase an increasing form of complexity (Axe-man, King, Plougher/Sage, wise Statesman, mighty Warrior). As per
Vedas, another explanation for the creation is based on the
five elements: earth, water, fire, air and
aether. The Hindu religion traces its beginnings to the Vedas. Everything that is established in the Hindu faith such as the gods and goddesses, doctrines, chants, spiritual insights, etc. flow from the poetry of
Vedic hymns. The Vedas offer an honor to the sun and moon, water and wind, and to the order in Nature that is universal. This naturalism is the beginning of what further becomes the connection between Hinduism and science.
Islam From an Islamic standpoint, science, the study of
nature, is considered to be linked to the concept of
Tawhid (the Oneness of God), as are all other branches of knowledge. In
Islam, nature is not seen as a separate entity, but rather as an integral part of Islam's holistic outlook on God, humanity, and the world. The Islamic view of science and nature is continuous with that of religion and God. This link implies a sacred aspect to the pursuit of scientific knowledge by Muslims, as nature itself is viewed in the Qur'an as a compilation of signs pointing to the Divine. It was with this understanding that science was studied and understood in Islamic civilizations, specifically during the eighth to sixteenth centuries, prior to the colonization of the Muslim world.
Robert Briffault, in
The Making of Humanity, asserts that the very existence of science, as it is understood in the modern sense, is rooted in the scientific thought and knowledge that emerged in Islamic civilizations during this time.
Ibn al-Haytham, an
Arab Muslim, was an early proponent of the concept that a
hypothesis must be proved by
experiments based on confirmable procedures or mathematical
evidence—hence understanding the scientific method 200 years before
Renaissance scientists. Ibn al-Haytham described his theology: With the decline of Islamic Civilizations in the late Middle Ages and the rise of Europe, the Islamic scientific tradition shifted into a new period. Institutions that had existed for centuries in the Muslim world looked to the new scientific institutions of European powers. This changed the practice of science in the Muslim world, as Islamic scientists had to confront the western approach to scientific learning, which was based on a different philosophy of nature. However, most maintain the view that the acquisition of knowledge and scientific pursuit in general is not in disaccord with Islamic thought and religious belief. The Islamic Civilization has a long history of scientific advancement; and their theological practices catalyzed a great deal of scientific discovery. In fact, it was due to necessities of Muslim worship and their vast empire that much science and philosophy was created. People needed to know in which direction they needed to pray toward to face Mecca. Many historians through time have asserted that all modern science originates from ancient Greek scholarship; but scholars like Martin Bernal have claimed that most ancient Greek scholarship relied heavily on the work of scholars from ancient Egypt and the Levant. For example, Ahmadi Muslims universally accept in principle the process of evolution, albeit divinely guided, and actively promote it. Over the course of several decades the movement has issued various publications in support of the scientific concepts behind the process of evolution, and frequently engages in promoting how religious scriptures, such as the Qur'an, supports the concept. For general purposes, the second
Khalifa of the community,
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad says: The
Holy Quran directs attention towards science, time and again, rather than evoking prejudice against it. The Quran has never advised against studying science, lest the reader should become a non-believer; because it has no such fear or concern. The Holy Quran is not worried that if people will learn the laws of nature its spell will break. The Quran has not prevented people from science, rather it states, "Say, 'Reflect on what is happening in the heavens and the earth.'" (Al Younus)
Jainism Biology Jainism classifies life into two main divisions those who are static by nature (sthavar) and those who are mobile (trasa). Jain texts describes life in plant long before
Jagdish Chandra Bose proved that plants have life. In the Jain philosophy the plant lives are termed as 'Vanaspatikaya'.
Jainism and non-creationism Jain theory of
causality holds that a cause and its effect are always identical in nature and an immaterial entity like a
creator God cannot be the cause of a material entity like the universe. According to Jain belief, it is not possible to create matter out of nothing. The
universe and its constituents– soul, matter, space, time, and
natural laws have always existed (a
static universe, similar to that proposed by the
steady state cosmological model). == Surveys on scientists and the general public==