Fr. Paul Nienaber, SJ

Science and Religion, Can they Co-exist?

Every few months there is a science based controversy in the media. Evolution, intelligent design global warming, and population explosion are just a few examples where supposed scientific arguements are used to challenge believers.

Fr. Paul Nienaber, SJ is a physics professor and Fermi lab researcher in the area of Neutrinos and building block particles. As a Jesuit priest, it is his vocation to straddle both worlds of theology and science, professor and pastor.

Fr. Nienaber is a very strict scientist. The way of science is the way of precision and exactness. When queried on specific areas of controversy, such as evolution, he carefully chose his words, and did not feel qualified as a physicist to answer questions in biology.

Father's presentation tracked the development of science in the West through such figures as Gallileo, Sir Isaac Newton, and Rene Descartes, and the shift in cultural mindset that they fostered.

Most of the areas of contention between science and religion come from people doing poor science and people preaching poor religion. The area of expertise of science is the empirical study of matter and its properties, and the area of expertise of religion is experience, the experience of individuals and communities as they feel the touch of the transcendant.