What do scientists actually think about religion? And what do religious people actually think about science? The stereotypical answers to these questions will come up short once you’ve looked at sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund’s books.
You have heard of the White and Draper “conflict thesis” about the historical relationship between religion and science, right? It is a myth historians have debunked, but recent scholarship suggests that in debunking it they have missed some fascinating complexity.
Does history show a conflict between religion and science? According to Peter Harrison, a careful study of history finds a very different narrative.
“New discoveries about the phenomenon known to evolutionary theorists as ‘cooperation’ give us fresh reasons to regard evolutionary theory and classic Christian theism as entirely compatible, indeed richly and convincingly so.”
Christianity Today offers thoughtful guidelines for how churches can make wise decisions about gathering while we live in the middle of an improving but not finished pandemic.
Rachel Held Evans, who passed away in 2019, was a leading voice for progressive Christians and found that integrating science was critical for keeping her faith. In fact, when we surveyed our audience in 2020, we found she was one of the top voices who had influenced our respondants.