Can religion and science co-exist? Why or why not?

Question

Earlier when I asked a question about astroids, someone answered that Jesus and his followers don't believe in astroids! (???)

I was completely shocked by his response! Man knows that there are astroids. (I assumed that it was an undisputed fact.) We have pictures to prove that astroids exist. Our planet, and moon are marked with scars from astroids/comets slamming into them, we witnessed a comet slamming into Jupiter......can you enlighten me as to why any religion would state such a claim? It seems like these religious groups would lose credibility!

Lets try not to be offensive here...and try to keep it civil! I am just looking to satisfy my own curiosity, and not sway public opinion! :0) Thanks!

I AM ASKING IF YOU CAN HAVE/BELIEVE IN BOTH~ SCIENCE AND RELIGION. CAN THEY (PEACEFULLY) CO-EXIST?

Answer 1

Of course they can. One of my astronomy professors said the more he studied the stars and the universe the more he was convinced that only God could have created things. Just think, if the mass of protons, neutrons, and electrons were different than they are the universe as we know it could not exist. How could that happen unless there was divine guidance?

Answer 2

Gary Zuka is correct. But the issue here is the credibility of science. A scientific theory must be disprovable in order to be scientific. So I see his observation as a strength of western science. Not to say that science from eastern civilizations are without merit. But science is limited, more so than most think. Recently, the Dali Lama observed that science and spirituality are two paths to the truth. I agree, but I don't believe religious fundamentalism can be included in this definition of spirituality. .

Answer 3

Asteroids weren't discovered until the last 150 years or so.

Science and religion can and does co-exist. What we know as the Big Bang theory was championed and postulated by a Catholic Priest. The founder of modern Genetics, a Botanist, was a Catholic Abbott. Einstein had a type of diestic and religious belief.

Most religious people go to the Doctor when they are sick, the Dentist when they have a tooth ache, get Surgery when their appendix gets inflamed.

Mainstream science, for some reason, likes to think there are no WILLFULL causes to things, despite the fact that most scientific discoveries and processes had an INTELLEGENT designer behind them!

Answer 4

Are you talking about scientology? If so, that isn't even a religion. It's something some wierdo made up. Science has nothing to do with religion. Although Tom Cruise thinks so.

Answer 5

Of course it can and has for a long time.

Science is man's way of exploring and learning about this universe that God created.

Religion is man's way of trying to understand and establish a relationship with God.

It's only when people from one area try to tell the people from the other area what to do/say/think is when problems arise.

The current controversies are really more about human nature than any true conflict between science and religion.

As St. Augustine said a long time ago: "Faith does not contradict reason."

Answer 6

Yes, religion and science have co-existed for millenias, so I don't see why not.

Answer 7

Yes! My religion Islam Told me More about it! Allah Said In the Qur'an that He created the universe and He Created the Earth. And it Begin From BigBang!

My Religion and the Nature doesnt Contradict at all.

Answer 8

Science and religion have co-existed on our world for quite some time now, but not always peacefully. (xref Copernicus)
The problem with religion is many people interpret Holy Writings differently... many different factions and sects emerge, some with widely ranging viewpoints and beliefs. The same thing is true among scientists, but astronomers and cosmologists don't blow each other up when they disagree. Smart people lean towards the scientific, while people of less intellectual sophistication lean toward religious explanations for things. This is not to say smart people can't be people of faith, and it certainly doesn't mean that all believer's are stupid... but what it does mean is that the peaceful co-existence of science and religion is threatened most by stupid religious zealots who are so close-minded and mired in dogma that they would rather kill you than understand you. And we have plenty of them all over the world, in many different religions. When people's passions are allowed to over-power reason, the whole world is put at risk.

Answer 9

Religion was created to control people. For this to work people needs to be ignorant. Science, however, seeks to tell the truth about how the universe works. There are alot of people, here on Answers and elsewhere, that feel that science is trying to destroy their religion. And so they take every opportunity to harass and ridicule science. Like that person that said Jesus and his followers don´t believe in asteroids. And just now someone asked what happened between 1 billion and 600 million years ago. I gave a detailed scientific explanation about the Cambrian explosion for which there is ample scientific evidence. One person said that the world is 6000 years old and one more person concurred... So it seems to me that religion and science cannot co-exist unless religion changes in its core and the Bible (and the Curan) is rewritten. But since they are supposed to be the word of god himself how can they be? The fundamentalists say that god cannot be reinterpreted. So how can science and religion co-exist when science again and again gives proof that contradicts religion?

Answer 10

According to the bible the earth has corners, is flat and rests on pillars, and the sun rotated around it. In many respects science and other holy books completely contradict each other. That's also the reason many religious people say evolution didn't and doesn't take place, the earth is only 6000 years old, the big-bang (or the big inflation, whatever you like to call it) didn't happen. So my conclusion is that fundamentalistic religious people can not be scientists.
I'm surprised you don't know most most of humanity tends to believe more in religion and it's fairy tales than in science.

Answer 11

they can, what science can't explain, religion will