Relationship Between Religion And Science

Relations between religion and science have often been rather sharp. Points of contention between religion and science are usually about their different fact-claims. First of all, these relations represent basic human sensibilities about how we know what we know. Some rely on an authority, others decline it. Some seek satisfying emotional expression, others emphasize rationally. In the 19th century, Darwin 's theory of evolution by natural selection met at best with great caution by religious leaders, Protestant and Catholic alike. Other religious representatives flatly rejected the theory, a rejection maintained by many even today. That theory excited the contradiction between religious beliefs and scientific facts. Three main works of that time - "The Descent of Man" by Charles Darwin, "Points of Supposed Collision Between the Scriptures and Natural Science" by Gladstone, and "The Confession of Faith of a Man of Science" by Ernst Haeckel jointly represent the situation between religion and science of that time. For many 19th and early 20th century liberal religious thinkers, especially those whose primary concerns were with social justice, the cruelty and inefficiency of the process of development by natural selection seemed incompatible with their understandings of a caring God or their hopes for secular

Christians who trust a critical interpretation of the biblical chronicle of creation find incompatibility between Darwinian evolution and their interpretations of the Christian faith. The traditional context between science and religion produced by natural theology simply failed because eventually neither party shored it up. Scientists wanted to establish their own professional liberty and were willing to leave religion out of the picture and let religious groups do as they pleased so long as they left science