Christianity, Science, and Scientism

A common misconception is that science and religion are fundamentally at odds. Sometimes this misconception arises in response to flawed religious ideas, but often the culprit is a philosophic stance that has been called 'scientism.'

Scientism involves the claim that nothing exists beyond what can be studied and verified by the methods of the natural sciences (like biology, chemistry, and physics). On this view, only that which can be measured, observed, weighed, or shown to belong to the physical world is real. Ironically, scientism itself is a philosophic claim that cannot be verified by the methods of the natural sciences.

The truth is that Christianity has never had a problem with genuine natural science. In fact, the Christian view of the world has historically provided rich soil for scientific advances of all kinds. The Christian belief that the physical world is a creation, gift, and reflection of our loving God has spurred scientific investigation through history.

The problem has never been between Christianity and genuine natural science. The problem is between Christianity and a flawed philosophic view called ‘scientism.’

[KevMarsh-]

once upon a time, scientism was called empiricism