Scientia Theologiaque: On the Relationship between Science and Religion Dane Litchfield Moments of sheer scientific wonder have been used either to prove or disprove religious claims, and this dynamic has only been emphasized and stressed throughout the modern era. In philosophers such as Descartes, Kant, and Nietzsche, one sees a departure from antique and medieval thought in the relationship between science and religion. In an increasingly secularized and scientific world, this dynamic must be properly explored to reclaim the truth which the antique and medieval eras held. Unlike what the contemporary world wishes to claim, the mystical view of the world in the humanities is not removed from the empirical view of science. But how do these seemingly polar opposites enemies relate, if they are not removed from one another and not in opposition to each other? The nature of knowledge and religious experience suggests an integrative and complementary approach. As Thomas Stapleford of the University of Notre Dame points out, the Latin root for the word “science” shows this, as scientia (knowledge) denotes development akin to theological imagination; it is not techne (craft), or the power-obsessed mastery one sees within contemporary science and the modern education system.1 Evidence for integration and rebuttals against other dynamics are found in Darwinian evolution, physics, the arguments for the existence of God, and bioethics. Through exploring these topics, one can not only reclaim the proper relationship between religion and science, but also understand the telos (final end) to which human knowledge and experience point. The age-old debate of Darwinian evolution provides an excellent springboard into the discussion of the relationship between religion and science. Since its conception, there has been a perceived clash between it and the theistic religions, specifically centered on the contrast between a personal God creating the universe and the origin of species from natural selection. To begin with, the very nature of this debate refutes independence as an option for the relationship between religion and science, as they come into very direct contact with each other. But is this contact necessarily conflicting? Must a follower of religion, especially one Thomas Stapleford, “Sorin Fellows Faculty Seminar Series: Cultivating Faith in a Scientific Age with Dr. Tom Stapleford,” Sorin Fellows Faculty Seminar Series: Cultivating Faith in a Scientific Age with Dr. Tom Stapleford (March 24, 2021). 1
2
