The relationship between science and religion – a contentious and complex issue facing science education
One of my publications is:
Taber, K. S. (2013). The relationship between science and religion – a contentious and complex issue facing science education. In B. Akpan (Ed.), Science Education: A Global Perspective (pp. 39-64). Abuja, Nigeria: Next Generation Education Ltd.
Republished as
Taber, K. S. (2017). The relationship between science and religion – a contentious and complex issue facing science education. In B. Akpan (Ed.), Science Education: A Global Perspective (pp. 45-69). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Visit the chapter's page on SpringerLink
Download the author's manuscript version of the chapter
Abstract:
The issue of ‘science and religion’ has become a major topic of debate in some countries, and is increasingly recognised as an issue that impinges upon science education. There is a range of quite distinct stances that have been adopted on whether, and if so how, science relates to religious belief. This chapter considers why such a variety of views are adopted by considering the relevance of metaphysical commitments and worldviews. One important factor is the diversity of beliefs adopted within different religions, or even different traditions within a single major world religion. The chapter offers examples of religious beliefs that might potentially be seen to impact upon the way a person (such as a student) responds to scientific ideas, to give a sense of the range of metaphysical commitments that learners may hold that could interact with science teaching in different cultural contexts. Just as there is diversity in religious beliefs, there are also different ways of understanding the nature of science itself, not all of which are open to religious belief. Moreover, some scientists committed to an atheistic materialist worldview are actively seeking to gain wider acceptance for the view that science itself should be understood as excluding the possibility of belief in God. The complex nature of the interactions between various religious beliefs and different understandings of the nature of science creates a challenge for science teachers, and for learners who are increasingly coming to science classes primed to expect science and religion to be in opposition.
Contents:
- Introduction
- Symptoms of a problem in science education
- ‘The’ relationship(s) between science and religion
- Different general stances to the relationship between science and religion
- The significance of metaphysical commitments
- The adoption of a worldview
- Metaphysical commitments in religious worldviews
- Examples of ontological commitments in religious worldviews
- Examples of epistemological commitments in religious worldviews
- Examples of axiological commitments in religious worldviews
- Metaphysical commitments of the scientific perspective
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: theism
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: natural theology
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: agnosticism
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: methodological naturalism
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: atheism
- Worldviews consistent with scientific metaphysics: philosophical materialism and scientism
- Implications of worldview on understanding scientific knowledge
- The prominence of debates around evolution
- Implications for education
