Magisteria (the word first coined by Stephen Jay Gould) is a book that tries to solve a dilemma that has plagued thinking people since the Renaissance: the rift between science and religion.
The thesis of the book written by Nicholas Spencer, a Research Fellow at Theo, part of the Goldsmith University in London, is that the rift is a myth, and that in fact this myth started in the 19th and 20th Century.
Prior to the scientific revolution, the role of religion was usually strangling and sometimes inspiring. However, since that time the relationship between the two Magisteria, has certainly not been uniformly harmonious1, but had its up and downs.
Currently, throughout the world, disbelief or rejection of science is on the rise, most recently the antivaxxers that rejected the COVID vaccines based on religious beliefs or refused the use of masks or congregating in large numbers because of the belief that science lies2,3. How do the stories of the Bible as portrayed by the Creationist theme parks in Kentucky stand up against the sciences of geology and anthropology4 ?
This SDG will cover the views of how various religions interface with science, either supportive or antagonistic, or in many cases, both. Similarly, we will discuss how many well known people of science can be both religious and great scientists. Think of Newton (Christian, Gravity), Isaac Rabi (Orthodox Jew, Atom Bomb), Francis Collings (Catholic, Director NIH) and many more.