Christian attitudes towards science
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Most sources of knowledge available to early Christians were connected to pagan world-views. There were various opinions on how Christianity should regard pagan learning, which included its ideas about nature. For instance, among early Christian teachers, Tertullian (c. 160–220) held a generally negative opinion of Greek philosophy, while Origen (c. 185–254) regarded it much more favorably and required his students to read nearly every work available to them.
Historically, Christianity has often been a patron of sciences. It has been prolific in the foundation of schools, universities and hospitals, and many clergy have been active in the sciences. Historians of science such as Pierre Duhem credit medieval Catholic mathematicians and philosophers such as John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Roger Bacon as the founders of modern science. Duhem concluded that "the mechanics and physics of which modern times are justifiably proud to proceed, by an uninterrupted series of scarcely perceptible improvements, from doctrines professed in the heart of the medieval schools".
See also
- Conflict thesis
- Continuity thesis
- Deep ecology
- Demarcation problem
- Faith and rationality
- Issues in Science and Religion
- List of science and religion scholars
- Merton thesis
- Natural theology
- Philosophy of science
- Politicization of science
- Religious skepticism
- Psychology of religion
- Scientific method and religion
- Theistic evolution
By tradition:
- Catholic Church and evolution and Catholic Church and science
- List of Catholic scientists
- List of Christian thinkers in science
- List of Christian Nobel laureates
- List of Roman Catholic cleric-scientists
- List of Jesuit scientists
- Quakers in science
- Merton Thesis
In the US:
- American Scientific Affiliation
- Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
- Creation–evolution controversy
- Intelligent design
- John Templeton Foundation
