Religion and science : the basics

209 Pages·2012·1.075 MB·English

by  Clayton, Philip

Philip Clayton
Religion and
Science
RELIGION AND SCIENCE
THE BASICS
Religion and science are arguably the two most powerful social
forces in the world today; however, they are widely perceived to
be in irreconcilable conflict. This unique book provides an intro-
duction to the crucial ongoing questions and arguments in this
controversial field.
Examining critical arguments through thematic debates, the
author, renowned expert Philip Clayton, presents a balanced
response to essential issues including:
• science or religion, or science and religion?
• Intelligent Design vs. the New Atheists
• the role of scientific and religious ethics – designer drugs, AI,
and stem cell research
• the future of science and the future of religion.
Viewpoints from a range of world religions and different scientific
disciplines are explored, making this book essential reading for all
those wishing to formulate their own questions and opinions about
this much debated subject.
Philip Clayton is Ingraham Professor and Dean of Claremont
School of Theology, and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University
USA. Author or editor of some twenty books, he is widely recog-
nized internationally as a leading figure in the field of religion and
science.
The Basics
ACTING LOGIC
BELLA MERLIN JC BEALL
ANTHROPOLOGY MANAGEMENT
PETER METCALF MORGEN WITZEL
ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION) MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)
CLIVE GAMBLE KARL MOORE AND NIKETH PAREEK
ART HISTORY PHILOSOPHY (FOURTH EDITION)
GRANT POOKE AND DIANA NEWALL NIGEL WARBURTON
THE BIBLE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
JOHN BARTON JOSEPH HOLDEN
BUDDHISM POETRY (SECOND EDITION)
CATHY CANTWELL JEFFREY WAINWRIGHT
CRIMINAL LAW POLITICS (FOURTH EDITION)
JONATHAN HERRING STEPHEN TANSEY AND NIGEL JACKSON
CRIMINOLOGY (SECOND EDITION) THE QUR’AN
SANDRA WALKLATE MASSIMO CAMPANINI
ECONOMICS (SECOND EDITION) RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)
TONY CLEAVER MALORY NYE
EDUCATION RELIGION AND SCIENCE
KAY WOOD PHILIP CLAYTON
EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION) RESEARCH METHODS
ALEX WARLEIGH- LACK NICHOLAS WALLIMAN
EVOLUTION ROMAN CATHOLICISM
SHERRIE LYONS MICHAEL WALSH
FILM STUDIES SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)
AMY VILLAREJO DANIEL CHANDLER
FINANCE (SECOND EDITION) SHAKESPEARE (SECOND EDITION)
ERIK BANKS SEAN MCEVOY
HUMAN GENETICS SOCIOLOGY
RICKI LEWIS KEN PLUMMER
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TELEVISION STUDIES
PETER SUTCH AND JUANITA ELIAS TOBY MILLER
ISLAM (SECOND EDITION) TERRORISM
COLIN TURNER JAMES LUTZ AND BRENDA LUTZ
JUDAISM THEATRE STUDIES
JACOB NEUSNER ROBERT LEACH
LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION) WORLD HISTORY
R.L. TRASK PETER N. STEARNS
LITERARY THEORY (SECOND EDITION) WORLD MUSIC
HANS BERTENS RICHARD NIDEL
RELIGION AND SCIENCE
THE BASICS
Philip Clayton
First published 2012
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2012 Philip Clayton
The right of Philip Clayton to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Clayton, Philip, 1956–
Religion and science: the basics/Philip Clayton.
p. cm. – (The basics)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Religion and science. I. Title.
BL240.3.C54 2012
201′.65–dc22
2011009500
ISBN: 978-0-415-59855-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-59856-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-80444-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
CONTENTS
Preface viii
1 The basic question: science or religion, or science
and religion? 1
The debate that no one can avoid 1
A naturalist and a theist in debate 3
Taking stock 11
2 The two most famous foes: Intelligent Design
versus the New Atheists 15
Intelligent Design 17
ID as science 18
But is it really science? 21
God, design, and delusion 24
Six New Atheist arguments 25
How Dawkins should have argued 30
Biology excludes the idea of God 32
Biology renders the existence of God
improbable 33
Religious belief is incompatible with the
scientific mindset 34
Where does the debate leave us? 39
vi
CONTENTS
3 Science and the world’s religions 43
Judaism 44
Islam 47
Hinduism 51
Buddhism 56
Conclusions and further questions to explore 61
4 Physics 66
Why the religious interest in cosmology? 67
Fundamental physics 71
Fine- tuning and the multiverse 73
Quantum physics and consciousness 75
Possible religious implications 79
What physics does and doesn’t show 81
5 The biological sciences 86
The origins of life 86
Evolution and creation 90
Are genes the fundamental units of evolution? 92
Are humans unique? 96
6 The neurosciences 104
Brains, minds, and consciousness 104
Can thoughts and intentions do anything? 105
Whatever happened to the soul? 109
Strict naturalism, broad naturalism, and pushing the
boundaries 112
Religious experience 114
7 Science, technology, and ethics: research 121
Stem cell research 122
Ethical issues at the end of life 125
The rights of subjects in scientific experiments 128
Warfare technologies 131
vii
CONTENTS
8 Science, technology, and ethics: applications 136
‘Designer drugs’: the ethics of pharmaceuticals 136
Computers, ethics, and Artificial Intelligence 142
Access to medical technologies 144
9 The future of science and religion 152
Summarizing the options 152
Making the case for partnerships 157
Values from science, values from religion 157
The religious traditions and the scientific method 161
Compassion and justice 162
The environmental crisis 164
They’re your questions now . . . 167
Notes 172
Index 183
PREFACE
Like many philosophical questions, the questions that arise at the
boundaries between the sciences and the religions will likely be with
us for as long as there are humans to ask questions. Unlike some
philosophical disputes, however, this debate is of immense practical
importance. Science and religion may just be the two most powerful
social forces in the world today (money comes in a close third). All
of us have a stake in whether they engage in a war to the death or
become partners for the good of society and the planet.
Many different interests might lead one to explore the possible
relationships between religion and science. They fall roughly into
three groups:
1 Religious:
• You are a religious person who wants to show that your reli-
gious beliefs are consistent with today’s science.
• You are a religious person who has concluded that your beliefs
clash with science, and you want to be able to convince people
that they should side with you and against science.
• You are a religious person who concludes that your beliefs clash
with science, yet you don’t want to make affirmations that
undercut science. So you are trying to determine what (if any-
thing) you can salvage from your former belief system.
2 Science:
• You are a scientist who believes that religion is deeply destruc-
tive to the quest for scientific knowledge, and you want to learn
enough about it so that you can demolish it more effectively.
ix
PREFACE
• You are a scientifically inclined person who wants to find out
whether religion is an opponent to science, a friend, or neutral
to the scientific quest.
• You are a scientist and also deeply religious, and you are encour­
aged by the many compatibilities that you find between scien­
tific knowledge and your own religious faith.
3 Other:
• You are neither scientist nor religious, but you believe that both
are important social forces in today’s world. You want to study
the field to know whether or not there is an intrinsic conflict
between these two powerful forces in the contemporary world,
in order to make up your mind about what you should believe
and do.
• You are interested in the topic for purely intellectual reasons.
You find that it raises some fascinating philosophical questions,
and you like to reflect on and debate about these issues.
• You believe that the battle between science and religion is
unnecessary, even harmful, and you wish to find ways to decrease
the antagonism between the two camps.
• You believe there are potential partnerships between science
and religion and you want to find ways in which the two might
work together more productively.
These ten reasons are only a starter; you can extend the list at will.
In short, there turns out to be a great variety of ways to relate
science and religion, and people bring vastly different interests to
the debate. Some are deeply committed to scientific practice and
the success of science; they believe that scientific knowledge is
crucial for humanity to survive and to answer the challenges that
we face today. Some believe that science provides all the guidelines
humans need for making fundamental ethical and political
decisions, and that it (rather than religion or philosophy) should
determine our view of the world. Some are deeply committed to a
specific religious tradition, or to spiritual perspectives more gener­
ally, or are seeking to make up their minds about religious claims.
Many bring both religious and scientific interests to the debate.
Some come to the debate primarily wanting to know what is
true. Others are far more skeptical about ever being able to resolve