Theology and science both use reason to expand knowledge, but conflict when they reach different conclusions. Theology is the study of God and religion, while science studies the natural world. Natural theology attempts to understand God through the study of nature. Science uses the scientific method to gather and analyze knowledge. The two disciplines come into conflict when scientific claims refute theological ideas, such as the Catholic Church’s trial of Galileo.
Theology and science both refer to bodies of knowledge about a specific subject, and both disciplines employ reason to expand that body of knowledge. Theology is the systematic exploration of God and religion, and science is commonly referred to as the study of the natural world. Although both disciplines are based on rational discourse, theology and science come into conflict when they come to different conclusions about the explanations of natural phenomena.
The word “theology” comes from the roots theos and logia, which in Greek mean “God” and “speech” respectively. Thus, the study of theology is concerned with the nature of God and the interpretation of Scripture. It is the intellectual study of spiritual matters. There are many types of theology, but the branch most closely related to science is known as “natural theology.” Natural theology attempts to come to a greater understanding of God through the study of the natural world.
“Science”, on the other hand, is a word that derives from the Latin scientia, which means “knowledge”. It refers both to the body of knowledge gleaned from scientific inquiry and to the process by which information is gathered and analyzed. This process, known as the scientific method, centers on making predictions and then testing them to determine their accuracy. Science encompasses many disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences. Each of these disciplines has a peer review system to ensure that scientific claims are provable and repeatable.
Theology and science are similar in that they both employ systematic and rational exploration to gain new knowledge or understanding of their subjects. Both aim to use logic to reach consensus within their respective communities. Many scientists have found theology and science to be entirely compatible; for example, the father of modern physics, Sir Isaac Newton, was also a theologian. Other scientists – biologist Richard Dawkins is a graphic example – argue that theology is a collection of superstitions that does nothing to advance human understanding of the universe.
The two systems of thought come into conflict when the claims of science refute ideas that theology has established as truth, especially those based on the interpretation of scripture. A famous example of this kind of conflict was the Catholic Church’s trail of Galileo. Galileo famously claimed that the Earth moved around the sun. This was contrary to the doctrine of the Catholic Church at the time, which stated that the Earth was the immobile center of the universe and that the sun and other celestial bodies moved around it. Galileo was forced to retract his claim, although it later proved scientifically valid.
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