The Triple Helix held its second Science Café of the year in the Wolman Multipurpose Room this past Monday. The topic for the open forum debate was “Discussing the Intersection Between Science and Religion,” and it centered around Pope Francis’s recent remarks that the Big Bang Theory and the existence of God and creationism are not mutually exclusive.
“[The Triple Helix] is an international organization that promotes [the] discussion of science and science-related issues and how they relate to real world problems,” sophomore Jai Thakor, a member of Triple Helix, said. “This was just an issue that is very relevant to now. The concept of the Big Bang and how science relates to religion has been an issue pertaining to science as a whole since its beginnings.”
The Pope recently said that both religious and scientific principles could co-exist.
“The Big Bang, that is placed today at the origin of the world, does not contradict the divine intervention but exacts it. The evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve,” Pope Francis said in a recent address.
This speech served as the main catalyst for Monday’s forum.
“Some prominent public intellectuals have even advocated a complete overhaul of religion in favor of a secular, humanist world,” junior Helen Zhao, Triple Helix member and organizer of the event, wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “In light of Pope Francis’s recent remarks and extant debate of this question, we thus thought it useful and interesting to discuss science’s intersection with religion.” Students from all backgrounds, some who are religious and others who self-identify as non-religious, communicated their viewpoints and participated in the debate, providing diverse opinions on the intersection between science and religion.
“As The Triple Helix — a global forum for science in society — we’re dedicated to communicating the importance of science in the context of various non-science disciplines,” Zhao wrote. “Understanding the relation of science to religion, then, is a perennial problem with immediate relevance to our mission statement and society, especially now, when the products and theories of science have become so integral to our daily lives.”
The conversation quickly became heated, as the group discussed whether a scientist can and should morally believe in God if the existence of God cannot be scientifically proven. Interruptions were frequent, and most of the participants were eager to have their opinions heard by the rest of the group.
The general consensus among the students was that a belief in God and the search for the truth through the experimentation of natural phenomena — how the group defined “science” — were not mutually exclusive unless the scientist’s belief contradicted basic assumptions of natural science that have been nearly proven, like evolution.
The conflict between one’s public and private lives was also discussed. This was specifically addressed through the idea that a scientist can believe in the Higgs-Boson particle, the so-called “God Particle,” and still be a believer in a deity or set of religious teachings.
The group also mulled over the definition of faith. Some of the questions addressed included whether faith is simply belief without evidence, whether religion is a way of acting or solely belief and what the word “faith” implies.
The term “religiosity,” defined as the degree to which a person is religious, was used often in this part of the discussion. Several remarks focused on the main differences between religion and culture, with one student recounting her friend’s experience as a practicing and questioning Jew.
Other topics discussed were multiverses, the ambiguous nature of causality and the impact that religion has had on science in general, including a segment on Isaac Newton’s beliefs.
“It was a stimulating discussion and an opportunity to discuss something that is generally overlooked [at Hopkins],” freshman Kelsey Harper said.
The Triple Helix plans to host more Science Café round table discussions throughout the school year.
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