Engaging with Culture - Science and Religion.
‘Science has disproved God’. ‘We don’t need God now we know better through science’. I’m sure you’ve heard similar comments. They reveal that the relationship between science and religion is more than an optional academic discussion, because it can truly affect how open people are to God. So how can we help turn potential stumbling blocks into stepping-stones?
It can feel daunting to engage in conversation about science and religion: many people hold strong, emotive opinions and the scientific and theological details can sometimes feel far beyond our reach. We might feel tempted to leave it to the experts who, in many cases, have literally ‘written the book’ on the subject – not an unrealistic demand in a place like Cambridge. These people have their role to play, but I think we do too. The perception of science plays a bigger role in how people view the world, and things beyond this world, than we might think. So, I hope that, no matter our age or qualifications, we can all feel encouraged to find ways to engage with these conversations.
Why should we engage?
“Great are the works of the Lord, they are pondered by all who delight in them”
- PSALM 111:2
Science is an incredible gift from God. It can help us to uncover wonders which captivate people worldwide. How much more should it bring Christians to our knees in awe, as wonder leads us to praise the one who made it all!
And yet, we so often elevate the gift above the giver. There is a widespread view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge of value - a view called scientism. Most people don’t actually follow this extreme approach through to completion – they might fight for a ‘fair’ world, learn lessons from history, and value love, which most would agree can’t be fully measured or described by science - but this view of science still has a strong influence on how people think about science-faith matters.
Without necessarily being told that ‘science has killed God’, many people subconsciously absorb this idea through sensational science communication, popular media voices, or more subtle cues from friends and family.
Research and experience show children as young as 11 saying things like: “I only believe science and logical answers and theories”1. In a UK study, 45% of 750 students aged 10-11 agreed that ‘Science makes it hard to believe in God’[1]. Unless we are willing to engage and present an alternative view, where Christians celebrate the gift of science, this stance is where many people will remain.
What exactly are we engaging with?
Misunderstandings about the power, claims and limits of science can build real barriers to people taking religious faith seriously and, often, we find hints of this in the science-faith questions we receive. So, a helpful place to start is to affirm the awesomeness of science, while gently exploring what it can tell us, what it can’t, and how it might interact with other forms of knowledge.
For example, questions like ‘Did God create everything or was it the Big Bang?’ position God just as a competing, physical explanation for how things came to be. This offers a great opportunity to explore where the Christian God sits in relation to the physical explanations we can discover through science. Science is powerful because it is limited to exploring the physical, observable Universe. But the God of the Bible doesn’t seem to sit inside the Universe as a physical force or process we can isolate in an experiment. As the Creator and Sustainer of everything we will ever discover, God isn’t replaced by scientific explanations – he’s the reason there is a physical universe for us to explore and delight in, at all!
Or how about ‘Why are you here?’. Is it because of a complex dance of cells, DNA and chemicals as an embryo developed, or because your parents met, or because God created you, loves you and wanted you to be here? Three answers - each different, each true, each a different level of explanation which can come together in harmony to present a fuller picture of reality than any one alone.
If we can celebrate science as a gift from God, holding both science and God in the right perspective, we can help gently challenge the narrative that faith can’t be taken seriously in a scientific world.
How can we engage, practically?
Reclaim the narrative: Not all science-religion discussions need to walk the well-trodden paths of high-profile, emotive topics. There are so many fascinating topics to explore, from thought-provoking, humbling discoveries, to stories of countless religious scientists whose faith motivates and positively impacts their work, integrity, curiosity, creativity and wonder - or whose scientific work kick-started their faith journey.
Lean on others: Praise God that there are Christians in many areas of science, with wise insights to share. For example:
Climate change - Dr Katharine Hayhoe
Creation care/conservation - A Rocha
Evolution/creation - BioLogos
Vaccines/genetics/testimony - Dr Francis Collins
Various topics (e.g. artificial intelligence, bioethics, neuroscience) - the Jubilee Centre and The Faraday Institute (including positive, accessible material for non-specialists in churches, from Dr Ruth Bancewicz, Church Engagement Director (see here))
Start early: My team engages with children aged 3 to 18 and we see huge potential for positive, fruitful discussions across all age groups. We (and others) work to provide helpful materials, so browse our (developing) website for recommended books, resources and activities. Our ‘teens’ website is on the way!
Get in touch: We’d love to help you find contacts, material and approaches that address your concerns or questions.
Why me, why now?
The time is ripe for these conversations. During these turbulent times, people have been face-to-face with both the power and limitations of science. The prominent political phrase ‘led by the science’ has rightly commanded respect, but has also shed light on the way science alone can’t answer all of our questions. To fully engage with the challenges we face, we need to acknowledge the importance of different ways of thinking. Questions raised by the covid pandemic have shown us the value of combining lessons from science with other considerations, such as economic policies, community wellbeing and personal values (e.g. self-sacrifice, moral motivations, concern about global inequality).
We have an opportunity, here and now, to celebrate the power of God’s gift of science in a way that also points to questions and truths beyond its limits, and onwards to the unchanging one behind all creation.
Thousands of years ago, King David, overwhelmed by a night sky, cried out that ‘the heavens declare the glory of God’ (Ps. 19v1). Today, through God’s gifts, we have the privilege of visiting and viewing the heavenly sights in ever more wonderful ways. Let’s embrace our sense of worship through science, tearing down barriers and sharing our God-fuelled excitement for his world and all that we can discover.
Cara Parrett works at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, on the Youth and Schools Team. She is very happy for you to contact her at cara.parrett@faraday.cam.ac.uk if you have any questions or particular needs in this area.
[1] Billingsley, B., Abedin, M. and Nassaji, M. (2020), Primary school students’ perspectives on questions that bridge science and religion: Findings from a survey study in England. Br Educ Res J, 46: 177-204. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3574