Learning about Science and Religion
Science is one of the three 'core' subjects in the National Curriculum,
and considered to be an essential part of school learning. Students also
learn about major world faiths in Religious Studies, and students in UK schools
may be a member of any one of a wide range of faiths, and denominations,
or none at all.
Scientists vary in their religious beliefs - some being devout believers,
others being convinced atheists, and still others having less certain positions.
Yet there is a popular conception that science and religion are necessarily
in opposition, such that a person of strong religious faith would find
it difficult to be a scientist, and conversely that scientists cannot believe
in God. In an educational context this has often been seen exemplified
in debates about the teaching of evolution, where (a) the widely accepted
scientific ideas are inconsistent with a literal reading of some holy texts
and (b) some religious groups campaign against the teaching of natural selection
as 'the' scientifically supported view of the origins of the wide range of
living things found on earth. Of course, this can lead to a simplistic understanding,
as evolution by natural selection is not necessarily inconsistent with
religious faith, and indeed many scientists of different world religions
have no difficulty with accepting the scientific model. Natural selection,
and other scientific theories such as the 'big bang' theory of the beginning
of the universe are inconsistent with the beliefs held by some people of
faith, but by no means all.
Why is this an important issue?
There are a number of reasons why this issue deserves serious attention.
Exploring learning about science and religion
- When science is presented as opposed to religion this may
be linked with notions of science as the means to reliable knowledge, whereas
religion is based on superstition or cultural tradition. Yet we know that
for many school children science is not considered as a source of provisional
knowledge that is based on theories supported by interpreting evidence in
particular ways (and usually 'quarantining' a good many anomalies that could
be considered as counter evidence and potential sources of refutation), but
rather is taken to be a set of hypotheses that are tested by experiment and
so become theories with the status of proven fact. Philosophers have argued
for centuries how it is possible that our knowledge can be both fallible
and reliable. Teaching students about this aspect of the nature of science
(i.e. 'how science works') is one of the biggest challenges facing school
science teachers. There is a need for evidence-informed
pedagogy that teachers can adopt.
- Many religious people consider that their faith is as evidence-based
and ground in personally verified knowledge as their beliefs about the
'natural' world. So to dismiss religious ideas as simply due to superstition
or culturally transmitted folk-beliefs does not explain why many rational,
critical and intelligent people - including many successful scientists
- have faith in God, and so is an unhelpful view to present to students.
- Given that many students will have faith, or will at least
be located in family and cultural contexts that are encouraging them to adopt
faith positions, then any suggestion that there has to be a choice between
science and religion is likely to lead to students either rejecting science
as a basis for future study or possible careers, or feeling that a choice
of science entails a necessary tension with their family and cultural identify.
This could have negative effects on both motivation in school science and
uptake of further science studies later.
These issues will be explored in a new research project,
the LASAR (learning about science and religion) project.
The LASAR project is being carried out
under the auspices of the Faraday Institute for Science
and Religion (based at St Edmund's College, Cambridge), supported by
a grant from the charitable John Templeton Foundation
Director of the Faraday Institute: Dr Denis Alexander
Principal Investigator: Dr Berry Billingsley
Researchers: Fran Riga, Helen Newdick
Consultant: Dr Keith S Taber
The project is concerned with how school age students (i.e. 11-18
year olds) understand the relationship between science and religion, and
how teachers can support student learning about the nature of scientific
knowledge about the natural world, and different positions that scientists
can take about how their scientific work relates to religious convictions.
“A lot of
scientists write religion off, and most of them are atheists”:
One Y9 student's perceptions of the relationship between science and religion
Science teaching and creationism in UK schools
Return to Dr Keith S Taber's home page