Science and Religion, 1450-1900: From Copernicus to Darwin

by Richard G. Olson

Galileo. Newton. Darwin. These giants are remembered for their great contributions to science. Often forgotten, however, is the profound influence that Christianity had on their lives and work. This study explores the many ways in which religion―its ideas, attitudes, practices, and institutions―interacted with science from the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution to the end of the nineteenth century. Both scientists and persons of faith sometimes characterize the relationship between science and religion as confrontational. Historian Richard G. Olson finds instead that the interactions between science and religion in Western Christendom have been complex, often mutually supportive, even transformative. This book explores those interactions by focusing on a sequence of major religious and intellectual movements―from Christian Humanist efforts to turn science from a primarily contemplative exercise to an activity aimed at improving the quality of human life, to the widely varied Christian responses to Darwinian ideas in both Europe and North America during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Genres: Science, History, Nonfiction, History Of Science

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an extremely enlightening book which does not oversimplify relationship between science and religion. For a short book, Olson certainly has achieved many. I would recommend aspiring scientists especially to read this book, since it is often too easy to think that religion and theology has been impediments to scientific progress. This book will show in rather accessible manner that while it is easy to say science and religion are connected in complex ways, the complexity can be displayed on the table. Furthermore, there are many myths about Galileo and others that the author showed was not quite true.

In order to best understand how science and religion are what they are today would require basic understanding of their developments and interaction which unfortunately are too often misunderstood: theologians and scientists alike tend to believe they "know" their history very well - so this book should be both humbling and it has sufficient clarity.