Is religion incompatible with science? Three scientists say it’s possible to have both

Is the conflict between religion and science as deep as some think? We talk to three scientists about how they reconcile their faith with their work.

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While science is a “wonderful tool for understanding the physical universe”, [Christian astrophysicist Jennifer Wiseman] says her religious beliefs give her the answers to the bigger philosophical questions in life — like how mere humans can be significant at all in the context of the universe.

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[Immunologist Andrew Harman] is fascinated by cosmology — his favourite book is A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking — but he sees Buddhism as answering different kinds of questions to science. Buddhism, Andrew says, is interested in “creating the conditions for enlightenment to arrive” — a state in which people feel “unconditional love, deep spiritual peace, completely free of inner conflict”.

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[Muslim geneticist Fahad Ali believes] the Koran encourages “compassion, common decency, generosity and intelligence”. Fahad is yet to complete his honours year but meanwhile has been assisting in research using CRISPR to streamline genetic modification in plants at The University of Sydney Institute of Agriculture.

While there are “big moral questions” about how to apply genetic modification, he believes it should be used to cure disease and increase food production. “Science should be in the service of humanity,” Fahad says.

Read full, original post: Are religion and science always at odds? Here are three scientists that don’t think so