The God Debate and the Limits of Reason (Report‪)‬

Metaphors conveying adversity, contention, and rivalry are abundant in the literature on the relationship between science and religion. (1) Words like struggle, warfare, and conflict are common currency. Reductions of the long history of the relationship between science and religion to few well-known episodes that justify this script are numerous. The persecutions of Giordano Bruno and Galileo, controversies over Darwin's theory of evolution, the Scopes Monkey Trial, and more recent clashes over stem cell research, abortion, teaching Creationism, Young Earth and Intelligent Design are widely used references. By contrast, however, the empirical evidence about the relationship between science and religion points to a reality that is far more complex than the all-too-familiar narrative of conflict. Instances of hostilities are no more common than examples of mutual tolerance and even productive cooperation. An overview of interactions between science and religion reveal an array of various combinations when tensions between individuals, ideas, and institutions have either resulted in conflict or "have been resolved into harmony." (2) Stephen Gaukroger, for example, points to the period in early modern history when Christianity took over, promoted, and set the agenda for natural philosophy that advanced the cause of science in the 17th century. (3)