Does God have a place in science? How should science and religion interact?
Last month’s article “Has Satan Hijacked Science”[1] has raised several questions concerning the proper roles of science and religion and just how they should interact. As in all of my articles, the following answers are my personal perspectives, and should not be understood to represent the views of the LDS Church nor even of most LDS scientists. Q1. What is the principal difference between true science and true religion? A1. The principal difference between science and religion is in the source of the knowledge. Scientific knowledge at its best comes from the scientific method. Systematic observations are made and theories are proposed to explain the observations. No claim is ever made by a real scientist that he has found absolute truth. Scientists have theories which have been very successful at predicting results of experiments, but which could be modified or replaced when new experiments disprove current views. Religion, on the other hand, claims a different source of knowledge.
