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Science Vs. Religion 28 ARTICLE Science Versus Religion The War That Never Was By Joshua Moritz Many think the relationship between science and religion—especially the Christian religion— has been one of conflict, debate, or even all-out warfare. Ask the average person on the street, and they will likely tell you the war between science and religion is as old as history. DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR CLASS TO READ: SMP.ORG/ASPIREVOL1 Everyone seems to know for a “fact” that religion and science have always had a hard time getting along. This common notion, that science and religion have experienced a long history of conflict or warfare, is called the conflict thesis by historians of science and religion. This article is divided in several parts. The Science and Religion at War: first examines the historical roots and social context of the origin of the conflict thesis. the birth of a modern myth Later parts will then evaluate three historical In Dan Brown’s best-selling novel Angels and cases that are often cited in support of the Demons (also a 2009 movie), the hero of the conflict thesis: (1) that Christopher Columbus story, Harvard professor Robert Langdon, was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church asserts that “early scientists were branded alive, for holding that the Earth is a globe and not on the chest, with the symbol of a cross,” and flat; (2) that the Church hounded, tortured, “outspoken scientists like Copernicus were and imprisoned Galileo Galilei (and Nicolaus murdered by the church for revealing scientific Copernicus before him) truths.” He also declares, “Since for suggesting that the the beginning of history, a deep sun is the center of the Where does rift has existed between science solar system; and (3) and religion,” and “religion has that John T. Scopes—the the myth of always persecuted science.”2 defendant in the famous the ages-long 1925 Scopes Monkey While Hollywood films are not Trial—was a “martyr for warfare between typically viewed as authoritative science” who heroically sources for historical truth, taught evolution and paid religion and high school and college the price by being thrown textbooks generally are. behind bars. Investigation science derive? And here one often finds the of these three cases same theme—that the Christian will demonstrate that the language church has resisted science and persecuted of warfare falls far short of historical scientists from the beginning. Many textbooks reality. A more accurate understanding include references to popes who banned the of these events reveals a complexity of number zero or excommunicated Halley’s interactions characterized by both creative Comet, bishops who opposed vaccination tension and constructive dialogue.1 30 Aspire Volume 1 // Fall 2019 and human dissection, or how the Catholic But from where does the myth of the ages- Church burned at the stake the early long warfare between religion and science scientist Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) for derive? According to historian of science his scientific support of heliocentrism.3 Thomas Dixon, the conflict thesis was invented by anti-church rationalists of the European Students are often surprised to learn Enlightenment in the late 1700s and then that these stories are false in a variety embellished and propagated by anti-Christian of ways. As a number of contemporary secular “free-thinkers” in the late 1800s.5 historians of science have pointed out, the The Enlightenment rationalists contrasted truth is that the church never did any of their own “Age of Reason” with what these things. In fact, the Catholic Church they called the “Dark Ages” of Christian encouraged the early practices of vaccination Europe, and they promoted the story of the and supported human dissection. Moreover, warfare between science and religion to there is not one clearly documented make a case for social revolution. Among instance of the church ever burning anyone these Enlightenment rationalists were the at the stake for scientific opinions.4 French patriot Voltaire (1694–1778) and While professional historians of science the American patriot Thomas Paine (1737– try their best to set the record straight, a 1809), both scientific thinkers who were good story dies hard, and the notion of opposed to Christianity and who viewed the the perennial warfare between science institutional churches of France and England and religion is a persistent myth. as the oppressive tentacles of the established ARTICLE 31 monarchies. In his enormously popular book Huxley (1825–1895), along with the American The Age of Reason (1794), Paine railed against promoters of science and secular education, “the continual persecution carried on by the John W. Draper (1811–1882) and Andrew Church, for several hundred years, against the Dickson White (1832–1918). Huxley, who sciences and against the professors of science.” resented the influence of the Anglican establishment within the scientific culture Paine contended that Christianity placed of his day, embellished a vision of Western shackles on the mind and that no scientifically history where “extinguished theologians progressive person could ever embrace the lie about the cradle of every science as central doctrines of the Christian faith. What the strangled snakes beside the cradle of Paine sought through his literary efforts, Hercules.”8 Coining the term “agnostic” to however, was not to end religion but to replace describe his own position on religion, Huxley the Christian religion with a secularized enlisted Darwin’s scientific theory to champion “rational” religion based on science.6 the cause of religious skepticism. He had no In the 1800s, the rhetorical torch of the patience with scientific colleagues, such as anti-religious Enlightenment thinkers Roman Catholic biologist St. George Mivart, was taken up by the “freethinkers” of the who accepted evolution and insisted that Victorian Age who sought to stage a social Darwinism was perfectly compatible with revolution in the scientific establishment, historic Christian teaching. Huxley, infuriated which at that time was dominated by by Mivart’s position, insisted that Mivart religiously devout practitioners.7 Foremost choose whether he wanted to be “a true son 9 among the freethinkers were “Darwin’s of the Church” or “a loyal soldier of science.” Bulldog,” British naturalist Thomas Henry If Huxley was to create a proper war between 32 Aspire Volume 1 // Fall 2019 Joshua Earle from unsplash science and religion, he could not afford to Cornell University) prosecuted the war of have soldiers fighting loyally for both sides. rhetoric against religion in the United States. From these authors come two books that have To further the cause of secularizing the been in print for more than a century and scientific establishment and help spread the are still among the most widely read books message of the war between science and in the history of science and Christianity. religion, Huxley also founded the X-Club—a Draper’s book, The History of the Conflict group of like-minded, between Religion and Science agnostically oriented, and (1874), tells of “ferocious scientifically influential “Recent theologians” hounding the friends, whose key pioneers of science with aim was to reform the scholarship has a Bible in one hand and a foremost British scientific shown the warfare flaming torch in the other. organization, known as the Royal Society. metaphor to be His book is primarily a tirade (Draper and White were against the Roman Catholic distinguished members.) neither useful Church, which he blames for The explicit mission of almost everything he views Huxley and his colleagues nor tenable in as wrong in Western history in the X-Club was to (including encouraging rid—with an evangelical describing the the “evolutionarily unfit” fervor—the discipline of relationship to breed). Draper was the natural sciences of reacting to the new wave women, amateurs, and between science of Catholic immigrants Christian clergy, and to 13 in America, to the first place secular science into and religion.” Vatican Council, and, in the center of cultural particular, to the doctrine of life in Victorian England.10 Between the papal infallibility. On top of this, he was time of its inception in 1864 and the end of angry that his own sister had become a nun. the nineteenth century, the X-Club and its White’s book, A History of the Warfare members gained much prominence within the of Science with Theology in Christendom scientific community, exerting considerable (1896), similarly speaks of the struggle influence over scientific thought. “The between religion and science as “a war waged enduring legacy of this group,” explains longer, with battles fiercer, with sieges more historian of science Peter Harrison, “has been persistent, with strategy more shrewd than in the perpetuation of the myth of a perennial any of the comparatively transient warfares warfare between science and religion.”11 of Caesar or Napoleon.” Indeed, he tells the Draper (a prominent chemist, founder and reader, “The coming of Christianity arrested first president of the American Chemical the normal development of the physical Society) and White (the first president of sciences for over fifteen hundred years… ARTICLE 33 imposing a tyranny of ignorance and superstition Johns Hopkins University historian of science that perverted and crushed true science.”12 Lawrence Principe likewise says that the historical formulation of Draper and White “rests on very White, too, was annoyed with the Christian shaky (and sometimes fabricated) foundations church, but for different reasons. He was provoked and was contrived largely for quite specific to write because of criticism he received for political, professional, and racist purposes … establishing Cornell University without a religious Serious modern historians of science have affiliation. Beyond this, White’s Cornell was unanimously dismissed the warfare model competing with religiously affiliated colleges as an adequate historical description.”14 n to get money from Congress; thus he had to make a historical case to show why religion Joshua M.
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