Between Religion and Science?

IS THERE A CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE?

Religion seeks to answer questions about the purpose and meaning of existence. These can be boiled down to the question, "Why do we exist?" Religion doesn’t tell us how we came to exist (beyond the broad assertion that all things were created by God).

Science, on the other hand, addresses the question: "How do events occur in the physical universe?" It doesn’t tell us "why" we exist, or "why" we ought to behave this way rather than that (i.e. it doesn’t address questions of right and wrong).

The idea that science and religion are enemies only became popular in the late 1800’s, and is being pushed today by some best-selling writers. It is a mistaken idea, based on a misunderstanding of the difference in the kinds of questions religion and science try to answer, and on an ignorance of history.

Consider:

 The Church founded the first universities and hospitals.

 The Vatican has its own observatory and astronomers.

 The man who first presented the “Big Bang” theory was a Catholic priest.

In the movie Contact, Dr. Eleanor Arroway (“Ellie”) has spent her life searching for truth in the study of radio astronomy. Palmer Joss has spent his searching for truth through faith in God. When Ellie discovers a stunning message from an extraterrestrial intelligence, originating near the star called Vega, they and everyone on Earth are forced to challenge their own assumptions.

The movie makes you think more deeply about the relationship between faith and reason, between science and religion.

Some background:

1. Key characters: Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), S.R. Hadden (John Hurt)

2. SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is an international group of scientists and lay people who scan the heavens for signs of life on other planets. If you like, do a bit of “googling” and learn how you can use SETI@home to help SETI analyze interstellar radio signals gathered by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is the scene for the early portion of the movie.

3. Vega is a bright blue star 25 light years away. (That’s 146,965,634,329,590.2 – or 146.9 trillion – miles!! Traveling at highway speeds of 100 kph/60 mph, it would take you almost 17 billion years to get there – longer than the universe has been around! This is why Contact uses the idea of “wormholes” for getting around the universe quickly.) Vega is the brightest star in the Summer Triangle, a group of stars easily visible on summer evenings in the northern hemisphere. The name Vega derives from Arabic origins, and means "stone eagle." Vega is the fifth brightest star in the night sky, and has a diameter almost three times that of our Sun. Life bearing planets, rich in liquid water, could possibly exist around Vega.

4. Occam's Razor is a principle of logic and philosophy that is perhaps most appropriately stated as "when you have two competing theories which make exactly the same prediction, the one that is simpler is the better."

The Task

After viewing the film, answer two of the following questions. Your answer must be no more than two pages, double-spaced (i.e. 500 words maximum). Pay attention to the criteria on the rubric, and include details from the film in your answers.

1. Answer Palmer’s question:

" ... [A]re we happier as a human race? Is the world fundamentally a better place because of science and technology? We shop at home, we surf the web, but at the same time, we feel emptier, lonelier, and more cut off from each other than at any other time in history.... Maybe it's because we're looking for the meaning. Well, what is the meaning? We have mindless jobs. We take frantic vacations, deficit finance trips to the mall to buy more things that we feel are gonna fill these holes in our lives. Is it any wonder that we've lost our sense of direction?"

2. Palmer also said:

"The one thing that people are most hungry for, meaning, is the one thing that science hasn't been able to give them." Do you agree or disagree? Explain your reasoning.

3. Using the scientific method, can anyone prove or disprove the existence of a supreme being, the truth of a belief about the meaning of life, or what is the proper way to live? Is this even a reasonable question to ask a scientist? 4. At the end of the film Ellie Arroway says: I had an experience I can't prove, I can't even explain it, but everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am, tells me that it was real. I was part of something wonderful, something that changed me forever; a vision of the universe that tells us undeniably how tiny, and insignificant, and how rare and precious we all are. A vision that tells us we belong to something that is greater than ourselves. That we are not, that none of us are alone. I wish I could share that. I wish that everyone, if even for one moment, could feel that awe, and humility, and the hope, but ... that continues to be my wish. Would the Ellie Arroway at the beginning of the film have said something like this? What other type of person would talk like this? What does this passage mean to you?

Name: ______

Video response: “Contact” (attach rubric to reflection paper)

Category Level One Level Two Level Three Level Four Understanding * limited identification of the * some identification of the * clear identification of the * ample identification of the main religious questions in the main religious questions in the main religious questions in the main religious questions in the movie movie movie movie * limited indication of how the * some indication of how the * clear indication of how the * strong indication of how the movie responds to these movie responds to these movie responds to these movie responds to these questions questions questions questions Communication * limited clarity of ideas * some clarity of ideas * clear ideas expressed * clarity & insight in ideas expressed expressed * use of appropriate form and expressed * limited use of appropriate * some use of appropriate form conventions * excellent use of appropriate form and conventions and conventions * accurate use of terms learned form and conventions * limited use of terms learned * some use of terms learned in in class * terms learned in class used in class class with accuracy & insight Application * limited defense of responses * some defense of responses to * clear defense of responses to * outstanding defense of to the religious questions raised the religious questions raised in the religious questions raised in responses to the religious in the movie the movie the movie questions raised in the movie * limited understanding, * some understanding, * clear understanding, * strong understanding, evaluation, and analysis of evaluation, and analysis of evaluation, and analysis of evaluation, and analysis of these questions these questions these questions these questions