Meditations and Learnings

Meditations and Learnings

Accommodationism

Jerry Coyne applies the term accommodationism to the misguided notion that science and religion are “non-overlapping magisteria”. Steven Jay Gould most recently made this idea very popular.

Both science and religion make claims about reality, the important difference is that science uses the tool kit of peer-review, replication, testability, etc. while religion relies on things such as faith, revelation, and ancient texts.

There is a denialism that works hand-in-hand with accommodationism that states beliefs, if religion, play no role in behaviour. This apparently does not extend to other beliefs though, such as racism as seen in the KKK.

Francis Collins is a scientist which professes fundamentalist Christian beliefs but clearly balances his work by using compartmentalism. Compartmentalism could also be seen in paedophilic priests.