Does Science Leave Room for Faith?

I wrote the following essay for a scholarship a few years ago. The subject was "Does Science Leave Room for Faith (or vice-versa)?" I don't think the people granting the scholarship liked it because they didn't even bother letting me know that I didn't get the money.



To begin with, "science" suggests a fact or series of facts leading to a conclusion, while "faith" is typically used when an unobservable event happens (i.e. the origin of life) that is explained by the existence of a supreme being.

The question "Does science leave room for faith" (or vice-versa) suggests that everything we, as humans, know allows for a dichotomous existence. With a lack of hard facts, many people have filled in the scientific gaps with divine influence, and over the years, a schism formed between religion and science.

A Brief History of Time provides a description, in relatively plain English, of what we currently know about the origin of the universe and life within. However it is also an example of how science requires faith in its facts. Stephen Hawking, was not at the quantum singularity that the universe was created from, but based on the evidence given, we should "believe" that he is correct in his findings.

As far as faith leaving room for science, any religion should allow for humanity's gathering of knowledge. As humans have overcome intellectual hurdles, it is natural for us to take what we have learned, expand on it, and work toward the next goal. During this process, many items originally explained by religion are reevaluated in scientific terms.

For example, Galileo professed that the Earth was not the center of the Universe. Since this went against the Catholic Church's doctrine, he was imprisoned for his beliefs despite overwhelming evidence supporting his findings.

Another example is the discovery by the ancient Greeks that the Earth is round simply by noting that the mast of an approaching ship is visible before the hull. If the Earth were flat, the entire ship would be equally visible. Despite this, the Earth was believed to be flat and surrounded by demons for another 1500 years.

In conclusion, science doesn't eliminate faith, it simply attempts to provide answers based on given evidence, and many of those answers require a certain level of faith themselves. In contrast, religious faith doesn't eliminate science, but it can be used to provide answers to questions that science hasn't been able to explain. For us to grow beyond a choice between faith or science, we must realize that what we know and what we believe are not absolutes, and as we grow, we will find that some parts of science AND religion were wrong. When that happens, we must relinquish our old beliefs and embrace the new facts.