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Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?

Paul Kurtz (Editor),

Barry Karr (Editor)

3.58 · Rating details · 65 Ratings · 11 Reviews

In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centurie ...more

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Paperback, 368 pages

Published April 1st 2003 by Prometheus Books

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Aug 28, 2008 Todd Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: atheism-religion-philosophy, environment-science

Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? is a collection of essays from a number of viewpoints on the science / religion debate. The book is divided into seven sections and includes articles by prominent scientists such Steven Weinberg, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Feynman and Steven Pinker to name a few.

While the bulk of the essays tend towards the scientific/materialistic outlook, opposing viewpoints are also presented. Both sides offer well thought-out arguments, the bulk ...more

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Jul 01, 2015 James F rated it liked it

This is a collection of about forty articles, most of which were talks presented at a conference with the same title as the book, held in Atlanta in November 2001 under the sponsorship of the Center for Inquiry, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), which publishes The Skeptical Inquirer, and the Council for Secular Humanism, which publishes Free Inquiry. These were supplemented by other articles which appeared in one or the other of those two magaz This is a collection of about forty articles, most of which were talks presented at a conference with the same title as the book, held in Atlanta in November 2001 under the sponsorship of the Center for Inquiry, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), which publishes The Skeptical Inquirer, and the Council for Secular Humanism, which publishes Free Inquiry. These were supplemented by other articles which appeared in one or the other of those two magazines. Neither the conference nor the book was "fairly balanced", or intended to be, although some theists and "compatibilists" were invited, and a handful accepted; book and conference were intended as a counterweight to a much larger number of similar conferences with a theistic bias which have occurred recently.

Ordinarily, I have little interest in reading books about atheism versus religion, mainly because I have not considered religion a "live" question since I was a teenager, but also because I would rather consider "atheist" philosophies such as logical positivism, Marxism, existentialism and so forth on their own terms as total systems rather than from the viewpoint of what they may happen so say about one to me rather uninteresting question. I read this only because it had a tangential relevance to one of the challenges on one of my groups.

The book is organized in thematic sections; the more general articles were just what I expected, epistemological cliches which anyone who knows any philosophy of science at all is familiar with and which will certainly not convince any religionist who has decided to simply believe. There were also sections on specific questions such as cosmogony and religion, evolution and religion, ethics and religion, and why do people believe in this stuff. A few of these articles had interesting or at least unfamiliar facts. One, for example, talked about the close relationship between Christian creationists in the United States and radical Islamists in the Middle East, especially Turkey, who use their much greater state funding and academic influence to publish American creationists works (with slight modifications to replace fundamental Protestant Bible references with equivalent references from the Koran) not only in Turkish but in English and various other Western languages. Another discussed the activities of the Templeton Foundation. Joe Nickell's article on the Shroud of Turin was enlightening and will have to do until I find time to read his book on the subject.

The least satisfying part of the book was the attempt to explain the reasons for belief on evolutionary (sociobiological) grounds as having somehow been adaptive for primitive societies. According to statistics presented in the book itself, Americans have a much higher degree of religious and paranormal belief than similarly educated people anywhere else outside the Islamic world; polls show that 25% of Americans believe in witches, 50% in ghosts, and 90% in a God or other supernatural creator; while, again outside Islam, it is the only country where creationism is even taken seriously, much less dominant among non-scientists. Moreover, the degree of religious belief within various countries seems to vary in time. This would seem to me to argue that belief is not some hereditary residue of formerly adaptive behaviors, but depends on cultural factors (the question of the economic and political uses of religion are not dealt with in any serious way.) ...more

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Feb 21, 2013 David Harris rated it it was ok

Shelves: stopped-reading

This book contains sections on cosmology and God, intelligent design, religion and science in conflict, science and ethics, the scientific investigation of para-natural claims, scientific explanations of religious belief, and accommodating science and religion. The section that particularly interested me was the one on science and ethics.

Steven J Gould's essay on non-overlapping magisteria didn't really have anything to say about ethics at all. Richard Dawkins' response pointed that out, but the ...more

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May 12, 2012 Leanna Aker rated it really liked it

This is a collection of short essays from scientists with an interest in the intersection (or lack thereof) of science and religion. What I liked about the book is that there were a number of different topics, and the essays were short enough that one could get a broad sense of thoughts on science and religion, but not get bogged down in too much academia.

Having said that.... the essays ranged from very approachable and understandable to painfully academic in nature. Also, this book *is* heavily ...more

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Jul 01, 2007 Tiffany rated it liked it

Shelves: religions, science, essays, philosophy

Most of the essays in this book are interesting, but a higher percentage than I would like is more about "science vs. religion" and *whether* they're compatible, and not so much how they are or are not compatible. It's a lot of people talking about the "current" (late 1990s/early 2000s) controversy of religion vs. science rather than actually how science dis/proves religious claims or how religions contend with scientific findings.

Even those essays are interesting, though, and there are definit ...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Sally rated it really liked it

Shelves: science, religion, religion-atheism

A collection of essays, most of which first appeared in "Skeptical Inquirer" or were talks at a 2001 conference on the title theme. While different views are represented, the bulk of the authors argue that science and religion are not compatible. Most of the essays are well written and thought provoking; I found it a worthwhile read.

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Dec 19, 2008 T. rated it really liked it

A nice collection of well-written essays that takes on issues like the Shroud of Turin, afterlife experiences, Intelligent Design, cosmic anthropic principle, and why science explains life and the universe better than theology. Most essays are pro-science, but they give info on contrary views. Highly recommended. Tom.

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Aug 10, 2011 Adam Lewis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: general-science, philosophy, religion, skepticism

Pulls together some rather good essays by leading thinkers on these issues.

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May 19, 2014 Nik Bramblett rated it it was ok

Shelves: abandoned

I couldn't get into this. It was really one-sided. All the essays I saw basically scoffed at the idea of finding any compatibility at all, which was not what I was interested in.

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Jan 21, 2012 Barbara rated it did not like it

Thought provoking. Intellectual and academic.

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Mar 21, 2013 Troy rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction

As a compilation of essays from a variety of viewpoints in the relationship and roles of science and religion, this is a rather good read, and worthy of rereading -- several times over at that.

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About Paul Kurtz

Paul Kurtz

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Paul Kurtz (born December 21, 1925 in Newark, New Jersey) is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research.

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