Galileo Goes to Jail
Quite a few myths perpetuate the idea that science and religion have long been in conflict with one another. In this book, historian of science Ron Numbers take on this hearsay.
Quite a few myths perpetuate the idea that science and religion have long been in conflict with one another. In this book, historian of science Ron Numbers take on this hearsay.
Are prayer and science in opposition to one another when it comes to healing? It turns out the conversation on this topic has been going on for a long time.
Over the past three years, I thought I was researching science and religion in America. I thought the outcome would be uncovering new insights and then write an academic book to contribute the body of knowledge. Along the way, I found a history of racism expressed, intensified, and even weaponized, through science.
The science of eugenics, a misuse of biological science, runs deep in our countries history. Scientists at institutions like Harvard and the University of Virginia played central roles in eugenics. What is less known is that some progressive religious leaders were also active in promoting it.
Any discussion of race and science must include the many historical ways science has been used against non-white Americans. Some of that history is described here. Two of the more prominent instances include the Tuskegee Study and the experience of Henrietta Lacks.
There’s been a longstanding warfare thesis about the alleged rivalry between faith and science. But in the words of historian Ron Numbers, it’s “more propaganda than history.”