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| Gaps in Scientific & Religious Education, Part 2/2
There is a great need to better elucidate the limits of science in interdisciplinary discourse. Of course, we're asking some mighty big questions in science these days, and the limits of science are apparently not so clear-cut even among prominent scientist theologians of our time. In his 1990 J. K. Russell Fellowship lecture "God's Action in the World", Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne discusses "motivating belief that God is upholder of the world" by examining "what, for science, is the ground of its explanation" - "... the ground rules of science, and not at particular happenings." He cites two examples of "aspects of the laws of physics which raise questions beyond physics' competence to answer, issues that almost invariably raise in the mind the feeling that there is more going on here than has met the purely scientific eye." Polkinghorne's examples are [3]:
(1) the efficacy with which we can use mathematics to describe the physical universe.
(2) the Anthropic Principle.
But aren't these two examples different "beasts"? Whereas we can indeed speak of (1) as being associated with "the ground rules of science", (2) may turn out to be yet-another-God-of-the-gaps "gotcha". I refer to the apparent fine-tuning of fundamental physical constants to produce life in the Universe. The key here is that there is no APPARENT reason why these physical constants must take their empirically-determined values. The explanation of the anthropic principle could be "because God wills the physical constants to be what they are", OR there could be a yet-to-be-found scientific explanation, as in the proposed "multiverse" hypotheses, that have been labeled "atheistic" by some religious scientists. The label "atheistic" is truly ironic since others prefer a "multiverse" on theological grounds!
In his contribution to the book "Many Worlds", Fr. George Coyne writes [4]:
"An alternative to invoking a multiverse to explain the anthropic principle of course, would be to invoke God who fine tuned the universe with an intention that there be life. In addition to the fact that from the scientific point of view this is a purely arbitrary answer, from a religious point of view it provides an arbitrary God. God would be somewhat like a master cook whose pinches of salt, sugar, paprika, and other ingredients are just right to produce the pudding - intelligent beings. It appears that this inevitable inclination to a certain arbitrariness in the religious concept of God-Creator could be removed only if the appropriate cosmological model had built into it all that was necessary to explain scientifically the actual combination of physical laws and constants of nature that we observe."
Are religious scientists being too quick to jump on the "Anthropic bandwagon"? Are we so certain that we have enough of the cosmological details worked out, despite recent discoveries that most of the Universe is in the form of some kind of not-yet-identified dark matter, and the expansion of the Universe appears to be accelerating for some not-yet-identified reason? Don't discoveries such as these suggest a degree of caution is in order before we repeat the mistakes of history and attempt to force God into yet-another box (albeit a box that grows with the growth of our knowledge!) that reflects our incomplete human understanding of both nature and God?
Having concentrated thus far on the divide across academic disciplines (the "branches"), I will now focus on the non-academic community (the "trunk"). Just as widespread scientific illiteracy reflects the disconnect/divide between scientists, educators, and the general public, widespread theological illiteracy reflects a similar disconnect in religious communities. Since it is the tradition with which I am most familiar, I will use Christianity as an example. Just as there is a general misunderstanding of the scientific process among the public, there is an equally great disparity between mainstream Christian theology and what much of the public believes. I have repeatedly heard that advocates of "creation science" are a small, albeit vocal, minority; however, this claim just doesn't concur with what I've observed.
In a statement on evolution and the science and religion dialogue by Audrey Chapman, Director of the AAAS program of dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion, Dr. Chapman points out that although 15 major religious organizations have written statements supporting the teaching of evolution in public schools, "religious communities typically do not do a good job of disseminating their views... nor have they disseminated widely their statements supporting the teaching of evolution thus the vast majority of their members tend to be aware of the vocal objections of creationists but unaware that their community disagrees very fundamentally with these claims. ...in the absence of a more moderate religious voice, the media have come to equate creationism with the position of the majority of the religious community assuming that it is the only and necessary option for biblical theism. Media coverage of the `education wars' in turn has become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy by shaping public perception of the issue and the way in which the overwhelming majority of religious Americans relate to evolution." [Editor's note: Dr. Connie Bertka has been named Director of the Program effective October 7, 2002.]
I agree strongly with this analysis - I've noticed much suspicion and fear of science in my own church, along with a general impression that the only choices are accepting the "atheistic" scientific paradigm of an evolving cosmos, or "scientific creationism". Of course, the abuse of science by some scientists to promote particular ideologies doesn't help this impression, but I think that a large part of the problem is also associated with the way theology is presented to students and congregations in Sunday Schools and churches (or more accurately, not presented). Just as many elementary school teachers (and often junior-high and even high school teachers) are not experts in the subjects that they teach, most Sunday School teachers, though perhaps well-versed in Bible stories, know little theology and theological history. This is in no way meant to disparage teachers. There are many excellent teachers who are extremely knowledgeable in methods of teaching and different learning styles of students - and this is exactly where many college professors often fail! So a way must be found to "marry" the content and the delivery of that content. To use an analogy with science, most Sunday School teachers are ill-equipped to demonstrate how theologians have gone from the "observations" of their field (e.g. Scripture, written history, and religious experiences) to the theory, or model (theology), which attempts to make sense of these observations. This had led to two terribly unfortunate results for religious communities and for U.S. society in general:
(1) Critically-thinking students (the ones who ask all the difficult questions in Sunday School) find themselves dissatisfied with their lack of answers and the way their questions are often dismissed. Such students tend to become equally dismissive of most, if not all, forms of religion.
(2) Wide-spread acceptance of "scientific creationism" among the public, even if this is NOT the official position of their church, threatens to erode the credibility of religious communities.
Both of these consequences are of great concern to me as a scientist-of-faith who is also the mother of three inquisitive young children. "Difficult" questions should not simply be brushed off with a "because it's written here" response. As this year's winner of the Templeton Prize, Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne, has pointed out: "Faith is not demonstrable, but it is motivated. We believe things for reasons." These reasons should be elucidated in religious education, and difficult questions should be encouraged and explored "in good faith". Too often, people underestimate the abilities of young children to think abstractly, a skill important to both science and religion. Finally, we should never forget that an answer such as "I don't know, let's think about that question more" is no cause for shame, in science or religion, and is infinitely better than "because that's the way it is". It will also earn you a lot more respect from a smart child.
The Templeton Foundation should be highly commended for its efforts in sponsoring interdisciplinary research and discussion in science and religion, but if the only targets of this discussion are the "top branches" of the academic community, there will continue to be a disconnect across different disciplines and between specific disciplines and the public. If the "top branches" can't communicate effectively, what hope is there for speaking to "Joe & Jane Six-Pack" (and all the little Six-Packs?!), to whom terms such as "epistemology", "ontology", and "quantum indeterminancy" are just a bunch of meaningless words spewed out by people who've apparently swallowed dictionaries? Let's be honest with ourselves and admit that even at the top levels, across different disciplines, a similar problem exists because we don't speak each other's jargon, and we often don't understand each other's methods. I'm sure it would be a very sobering exercise to ask a random sample of people to define terms such as "evolution" and "chance". I have little doubt that you would get answers as diverse as the people you queried - and I don't just mean among the lay public. What we read into these terms depends a lot upon the usage in our own fields of expertise, and we don't often think to question whether the usage is the same in a different field. For example, what we mean by the word "chance" in a mathematical sense is hardly the same as the connotations of "chance" applied in a metaphysical sense, and yet these meanings are so often used interchangeably!
The Templeton course program is a good first-step in interdisciplinary science and religious education, but I'm afraid it doesn't reach a large enough audience, or emerge far enough out of the ivory tower, to adequately address the disconnect issues. If you direct all of your efforts at the college level, you're too late. Even many ivory tower dwellers have come to realize this important truth. At a recent meeting, I was astounded to hear a fellow scientist exclaim to a nearby middle-school teacher that "teaching is the most important job in the world".
And there's an awful lot of truth in the adage, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." Sadly, most parents and teachers are ill-equipped to help their children explore their own "difficult questions", and there are few resources to which they can appeal for help.
The major grant-funding agencies for astronomy are the NSF and NASA. Both agencies have been placing increasing importance on the dissemination of scientific research - i.e. education. The exhibit I mentioned earlier was half-funded through an NSF grant. In addition to providing grants specifically for education, many research grants are now required, or strongly recommended, to have educational components. Scientists involved in public education often "display their wares" at meetings, and collaborate with educators to help evaluate what works and what doesn't. At the Adler, teachers attend workshops to earn certification to teach astronomy or astronomy-related fields. The Astronomy & Education Departments work together to produce curriculum materials in a form that is useful to school teachers and addresses local and national educational standards.
To the best of my knowledge, the principal (possibly only?) grant agency for religious studies is the Templeton Foundation. Since comparative religions, and similar subjects that could potentially be taught at the pre-college level without violating the separation of church and state, are NOT generally taught in the public schools, there may be little way of plugging into formal education in this area outside of local religious communities. The burden may be on religious institutions themselves to better educate their parishioners. Sadly, this loses the interdisciplinary part of the process approach, unless the assistance of people from other disciplines can be recruited. There are certainly compelling reasons for religious communities to be scientifically literate - good stewardship, for one.
Just as it's impossible to be a good parent without knowing something about your child, it's impossible to be a good steward of the Earth without knowing something about how the cosmos works. Scientific and technological literacy can also empower the poor. And questions such as "If life were to be discovered on another planet, how would this affect our understanding of God?" at least deserve consideration by religious communities, given that we'll begin to conduct surveys for Earth-like planets within the next decade. Interfaith discussion would greatly benefit religious communities as well. Contrary to the fears of many, interfaith discussion does not mean that everyone should accept a vague, watered-down, universally-the-same faith. Unity ought to be able to exist with, and benefit from, diversity, but the only way that we'll ever begin to understand each other is to first establish our similarities and differences.
Returning to my first point, informal education can be a powerful way of reaching diverse audiences across many differences. This is also a place where institutions such as the Templeton Foundation and Centers for Religion & Science might contribute. Apparently, the fundamentalist group "Answers in Genesis" has already figured out the efficacy of this approach and is in the process of raising funds for a multi-million dollar "science" museum in Ohio with its own unique spin. This does not bode well for broadening the public perception of scientific and religious thinking... In his book "When Science Meets Religion", Dr. Ian Barbour classifies different perspectives on the relationship and interaction between science and religion: conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration [5]. While I found this to be a very useful summary of the "product" - the various positions held, I think it is time to ask how one reaches a position in the first place. Before a person can make an informed decision, it is necessary for that person to have some basic understanding of the assumptions and methods in scientific and religious approaches, and the historical development of these approaches. Informal education can take many forms - e.g., museum exhibitry, public radio and television, books, web-based outreach. I would very much like to see the process approach explored using one or more forms of informal education, with an emphasis on questions such as:
What are the underlying assumptions? (e.g. The rationality and orderliness of the cosmos form the basis for scientific investigation. These characteristics also form the basis for the Judeo-Christian understanding of God.) How are the "big ideas" developed? What types of questions concern each discipline the most? How are these questions approached? How are the methods used in science and religion similar? How are they different?
Presently, way too much of the science and religion discussion could be summed up in the "X-Files" slogan, "Trust No One". I'd much prefer to move ahead in accordance with the other slogan: "The Truth Is Out There".
NOTES:
[3] John Polkinghorne, "God's Action in the World", CTNS Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 2, (Berkeley: CTNS 1990)
[4] George V. Coyne, S.J., "The Evolution of Intelligent Life on Earth and Possibly Elsewhere: Reflections from a Religious Tradition", in Many Worlds, ed. Steven Dick (Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press 2000), pp. 177-188.
[5] Ian G. Barbour, When Science Meets Religion, (San Francisco: HarperCollins 2000).
Grace Wolf-Chase holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Arizona. In 1994, she was married, moved to California to begin her first postdoctoral position as a National Research Council fellow at NASA/Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, and had her first child. Two years and two subsequent children later, she was awarded a University of California President's postdoctoral fellowship at UC Riverside to study the earliest stages of star formation. In 1998, she accepted a "Tenure-Track Equivalent" position combining academic research at the University of Chicago with public education at the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. She spends roughly 40% of her time pursuing scientific research in the field of star formation at the University of Chicago, where she is a member of the Research Faculty, and 60% of her time serving Adler as an "Academic Liaison", to help bridge the gap between the academic research community, educators, and the general public. At Adler, she serves as Project Director on exhibit development and sky show production teams, helps develop educational programs, and works with diverse audiences including educators, students, media, and the general public, to help bring the excitement of scientific research into informal and formal education. Her primary research interests are protostars, protostellar outflows, and the impact of outflows on the evolution of molecular clouds.
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Published 2003.02.28
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