The Teaching of Religion and Science in Public Schools

The argument between science and religion has been boiling since the 1800s, when Darwin turned the heat up with his Origin of the Species, but it hasn't always been so. There was a time when religion and science coexisted peacefully, and the trend seems to be moving in that direction again. The articles "Evolution and Creationism Both Contribute to Human Understanding" by Michael Ruse and "Both Religion and Science Can Reveal Life's Meaning" by Sharon Begley both summarize the view that religion and science are not only compatible, but complementary in our lives.

Mr. Ruse begins with a look back in history. He refers to St. Augustine, who advocated that "one accepts a literal reading, unless or until reason or empirical science shows otherwise." Scientists such as Copernicus lived and died active in their Catholic faith. Even when the Reformation began and some began to insist on a literal reading of the Bible, others did not, and continued to espouse both science and faith as a means of explaining the world and our place in it.

When the theory of evolution began to take hold on a large scale, a greater rift arose, but not necessarily on the truth of evolution itself. Mr. Ruse explains that "the evolutionists deliberately set out to pick quarrels with the Christians and, in a way, to provide their own rival, secular tradition-one based on evolution. Visionaries like Huxley saw much need for the reformation of society-new schools, revamped technical education, streamlined bureaucracy, a military based on talent and not on privilege, and proper medical training where doctors cured rather than killed. They envisioned religion (especially in Europe) often allied with the establishment forces. Christianity was in accord with the power structure and did not want to relinquish control. Consequently, Huxley and supporters set up their rival edifice of the church of science, with evolution as its foundation...." and some still continue to do so today.