Science and Religion [Paperback]

Paul Kurtz (Editor), Barry Karr (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2003

Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain sceptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief, or that science offers support to any of the fundamental beliefs of the world's religions. In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, Paul Kurtz and Barry Karr have assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. At a time when religion threatens to distort the findings of science through Creationism and the Intelligent Design movement, this sceptical rebuttal is a much-needed response. Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, the nature of the 'soul', and near-death experiences.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Over the past two decades, science and religion have been seeking common ground through ongoing dialogue. The contributors to this volume provide a dimension to the conversation that has seldom been heard. Most of these essays originated as papers delivered at a 2001 conference in Atlanta sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, which is committed to the use of science and reason to conduct free inquiry into all areas of human interest. The very simple thesis of the collection is that science and religion can never be compatible. Rich and suggestive essays by such well-known thinkers as Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins and Arthur C. Clarke range over topics from intelligent design to sociobiology and creationism. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg opens the book by declaring that a dialogue between science and religion cannot be constructive, for science has made it possible for people to be not religious. Botanist Massimo Pigliucci argues that the newly popular theory of intelligent design is a kind of "neocreationism" trying to get into public school curricula by the back door. Finally, philosopher and editor Kurtz (Skeptical Odysseys, etc.) contends that science and religion are minimally compatible, for where science has provided an understanding of the vast and mysterious cosmos, religion is "dramatic existentialist poetry," a product of humankind's creative imagination designed to overcome fear and uncertainty with hope and love. Although some will dismiss most of the essays as arrogant and contentious, they nevertheless present important and provocative voices too often drowned out by the move to assert complete compatibility between science and religion.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 1st edition (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591020646
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020646
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking collection of essays, July 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Science and Religion (Paperback)

I attended the "Science and Religion" symposium held in Atlanta in 2001 and it was excellent. But this book is much more than a mere summary of the symposium. The book also includes many contributions by authors who did not attend, such as a chapter on Nonoverlapping Magisteria by the late Stephen Jay Gould and a chapter on Intelligent design by William A. Dembski.

At issue is whether religion and science have anything to say to each other and what happens when they tread on each other's turf. It has been argued that science has no business intruding into the realm of religion. But the nature of "science" is poorly understood by many people. It is not a body of knowledge, but rather a means of acquiring knowledge. Some religious claims cannot be be addressed by science because no means are available to investigate them. But on those issues where a means does exist, science has consistently forced religion to retreat and revise itself.

This book should be required reading by any school granting degrees in science, and it should be placed in every high school library.

47 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mythology versus Reality: Can they both be true?, April 12, 2003

By 

William R. Harwood (somewhere in Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science and Religion (Paperback)

Science and religion are NOT "Nonoverlapping Magisteria." Religion does make claims that science can neither rebut nor even investigate. But it also makes claims that can be and have been disproven. Either the transportation of a Catholic saint/goddess directly to the sky without passing GO and without collecting $200 was a verifiable fact of history, or it did not happen. The dogma that a god played a role in the origin of the universe is religion, and as such is not subject to scientific investigation. The claim that the universe is less than ten thousand years old has nothing to do with religion. It is bad science.
But dogmatic religion is one thing. The belief that the universe was intelligently designed, but not necessarily by the god of religion, is something else. Arguments for Intelligent Design are presented by believers, and rebutted by scientists.
Why is belief in religion so much higher among the less educated, and so much lower among natural scientists? More than one author offers a credible answer.
Other books have considered the question of whether science and religion are compatible, but never so effectively. While "Science and Religion" will not cure incurables, it will give the pragmatically religious something to think about. Buy it or borrow it, but read it.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous........, June 21, 2006

By 

John Felkel, M.D. (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science and Religion (Paperback)

A MUST READ for anyone interested about magisteria of science and religion. Well written essays (as one would expect with Kurtz as the editor) presenting both sides of this discussion. Never more relevant than today when religionists are making the claim about "biblical science", "creation science" (an oxymoron) ad infinitum. America can be a strange land where mythology and fact are allowed to mingle in some minds. This book will make you THINK.