Science and Religion

A dominant view among some is to think of religion interfering with the practice of science. The most prominent example might be Galileo, who was persecuted by the church for his views and ordered to publicly refute them. But the notion of an inherent conflict between science and religion is not necessarily true; peaceful coexistence is possible. Isaac Newton, to take a prominent example, was an ardent religious scholar. Most of his writings were about Christianity and not science! In fact, his interest in studying nature was motivated by his religious views! He viewed himself as exposing God’s laws rather than contradicting the notion of God. He hoped that in doing so, he would help people accept religion in light of the beautiful physical laws God has given us.