• Question: Do you think it matters if a scientist beleives in a certain faith or not?

    Asked by sophiedand to Anne, Carolyn, Joe, Mariana, Nick on 15 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Nick Bradshaw

      Nick Bradshaw answered on 15 Mar 2010:

      Most scientists seem to be aetheists or agnonistics, but I do know a number of Muslims and Christians (including me!) who work in science. It doesn’t tend to be an issue. You do tend to find that scientists with a faith got into science partly because of their beliefs. Certainly I’ve never run into any problems because of my beliefs.

    • Photo: Joseph Devlin

      Joseph Devlin answered on 15 Mar 2010:

      No, not at all. I don’t see any necessary conflict between faith and science. Science answers questions based on evidence and by definition, religion answers questions based on faith (where there is no evidence). The problems come when one side claims they have all the Truth and the other is just wrong.

    • Photo: Mariana Vargas

      Mariana Vargas answered on 16 Mar 2010:

      It shouldn’t matter if a scientist has a certain faith or not.
      Research results in the Natural Sciences should not be affected by beliefs, or any other personal stuff.

    • Photo: Carolyn McGettigan

      Carolyn McGettigan answered on 16 Mar 2010:

      I think people’s faith, or lack thereof, shouldn’t matter at all. When it comes to hotly debated ethical topics like the use of embryonic stem cells, religious faith is bound to be an important factor in shaping the scientist’s opinion, but I think that it’s important to have everyone’s input in deciding how these issues are taken forward. There might be a lot of scientists who have very similar ethical concerns, but don’t necessarily label themselves as having any particular faith.

Comments