Who to Believe: Religion or Science?

In 1939, a curious sixth-grade girl, Phyllis Wright, wrote a letter to Dr. Albert Einstein on behalf of her Sunday School class at The Riverside Church. She asked the question, "Do scientists pray?" His response was as follows:

Dear Phyllis,

I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer:

Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish.

However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science.

But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.

With cordial greetings,

Yours,

A. Einstein

Here’s what we should take from his response: Einstein believed that while science certainly hasn’t proved any meaning or results from prayer or faith, scientists—after committing their lives to exploration and discovery—often find themselves people of faith, since the universe is so incredibly vast and full of unexplainable wonders. He notes, however, that this is a different kind of faith than that of people who are religious because of how they were raised or because it’s what they were told to believe in.

American cosmologist, astrophysicist, and author Neil deGrasse Tyson believes something a bit different. While Einstein asserts that the more scientists explore the universe, the more they believe in something higher, deGrasse Tyson argues that the more he explores the universe, the harder it is for him to be religious.

On CBS Sunday Morning, he stated, “The more I look at the universe, the less convinced I am that there is something benevolent going on.”

Additionally, only a year ago, when promoting his newest book, he was asked again if there’s a God, to which he replied, “There are a lot of unknowns in the universe, but just because there are unknowns, does not mean there’s a deity in the unknown.”

We can conclude that there are mixed opinions in the scientific community about whether or not science and religion can coexist. This fact has existed for hundreds of years, long before Neil deGrasse Tyson or Albert Einstein formed their opinions on the matter. Galileo Galilei, Homi Jehangir Bhabha, and Isaac Newton are three men to whom we attribute some of our most significant scientific discoveries, and they were all men of immense faith. On the other hand, we have great minds like Pierre Curie and Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert—both scientists who outwardly opposed the blending of science and religion.

When one starts thinking about this age-old debate, so many questions come to mind. For me, they surfaced after reading Phyllis’s letter to Einstein: Is it possible to follow the teachings of both science and religion? Can you be a person of both religion and science? Do they contradict each other? When they do, who do you believe? Can they coexist? 

While listening to prominent scientists talk about their beliefs—or lack thereof— is fascinating, I find it far more interesting to look at the opinions of those in your community. To explore this question locally, I surveyed several teachers at Wootton to hear their views.

To my surprise, only one respondent replied “No,” on whether or not science and religion can coexist, their reasoning being, “Science is fact-based, whereas religion is beliefs passed down.”

However, the overwhelming majority of respondents replied “Yes,” whether they identified as religious or not. One teacher’s response read, “I am not personally religious, but there are certainly people who have successfully reconciled their religious beliefs with a belief in science.”

In agreement, one of our history teachers wrote, “People compartmentalize, rationalize, and accommodate competing belief systems all the time. Although I don't necessarily believe that religion and science are on opposite ends of a spectrum, I may be wrong. But I thought the Big Bang theory was developed by a Vatican priest. I believe many moderate believers, both in religion and science, are satisfied having a presence in both spheres. Because of that, I do believe a person can be of both science and religion. Although I am sure that people who hold more extreme views in either camp would disagree with me.”

This argument makes a good point—that religion has historically not held people back from studying science or even developing massive scientific discoveries. It makes me wonder about the possible turmoil and internal conflict that existed—and likely continues to exist—in scientists when it comes to their work and their faith. While science and religion can certainly coexist on matters such as ethics or causality, there are, in fact, instances where science and religion directly contradict.

The easiest example is creation. Where does the world come from? Science only has theories at the moment, the most widely accepted one being the Big Bang theory, which claims that many billions of years ago, the universe condensed into an infinitely dense and hot singularity, which then exploded, beginning the expansion of our universe. In contrast, most religions claim certainty about how the earth began. Hinduism, for example, claims that the universe was created by Brahma and that out of loneliness, Brahma divided himself to create a male and a female– all beings were created from this division. Those who follow the teachings of Abrahamic religions believe that God, in the case of Christians and Jews, and Allah, in the case of Muslims, created the world in six days, joining the heavens and the earth.

Who do you believe? Who do you ignore? Do you compromise your status as a scientist if you choose religion over science in these instances? Do you compromise your faith if you believe in science over scripture?

"When science proves something, it moves from the religious realm to the scientific realm of the world. I don’t think we should ignore scientific findings simply because they conflict with religious views. Throughout history, we've seen Popes make declarations that later Popes have reversed. What we consider true today may not be true in the future," says a Wootton teacher. "At its core, religion is based on hope and morals, not in scientific principles."

The answer to the question, can religion and science coexist, is simple: yes. How do we know? Because faithful scientists and science-based religious leaders have always existed and continue to exist. But when asking the question of who to believe when controversy arises, the consensus we come to is a rather unsatisfying one—that the answer to this question, for now, is subjective. Some are as convinced of the evidence presented that proves biblical creation as others are with the evidence that proves evolution. Some believe that it’s simply impossible to be a person of both religion and science because by confirming one, you deny the other. Some believe they can coexist depending on how you interpret one text or the other. Until specific scientific theories are proven to be true, or until the angel Gabriel blows his trumpet, it’s impossible to conclude who’s “more” right on certain matters, for lack of a better word. Maybe one day, scientists will wave a 3,000-page paper in the air and say, “Here, we did it—we proved that religion is a hoax,” and we’ll all be forced to believe them. Or maybe one day, a band of religious leaders will wave a 3,000-page paper in the air and say, “Ha! Everything is explainable through God.” Whatever happens, I truly, deeply hope I’m around to see it. 

References

Neil. “Neil DeGrasse Tyson on God.” YouTube, CBS Sunday Morning, 30 Apr. 2017, youtu.be/I0nXG02tpDw?si=0dPYsVroK47Qe4WN. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

OnOnto. “Letter to Phyllis Wright.” Medium, 15 Aug. 2019, medium.com/@onontoletters/letter-to-phyllis-wright-c66b6eb00061. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024

Morgan. “Is There a God?”: Piers Morgan Grills Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.” YouTube, Sky News Australia, 13 Sept. 2023, youtu.be/zoNViivs3U8?si=EZv2_XFmw_Oy6Eg4. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

‌BBC. “Creation Stories - Continued - the Existence of God - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - CCEA.” BBC Bitesize, 2023, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zv2fgwx/revision/7.

Howell, Elizabeth, and Andrew May. “What Is the Big Bang Theory?” Space.com, 26 July 2023, www.space.com/25126-big-bang-theory.html.