Why It's So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God? | Francis Collins | Big Think

Why It's So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God?
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Some scientists see religion as a threat to the scientific method that should be resisted. But faith "is really asking a different set of questions," says Collins
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FRANCIS COLLINS:

Dr. Francis Collins has served as the director of the National Institutes of Health since August, 2009. He is the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he led the successful effort to complete the Human Genome Project—which mapped and sequenced all of the human DNA and determined aspects of its function. The project built the foundation upon which subsequent genetic research is being performed. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007 Collins received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Collins has also published several books about the intersection of science and faith, including the New York Times bestseller "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."
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TRANSCRIPT:

Question: Why is it so difficult for scientists to believe in a higher power?

Francis Collins: Science is about trying to get rigorous answers to questions about how nature works. And it’s a very important process that’s actually quite reliable if carried out correctly with generation of hypotheses and testing of those by accumulation of data and then drawing conclusions that are continually revisited to be sure they are right. So if you want to answer questions about how nature works, how biology works, for instance, science is the way to get there. Scientists believe in that they are very troubled by a suggestion that other kinds of approaches can be taken to derive truth about nature. And some I think have seen faith as therefore a threat to the scientific method and therefore it to be resisted.

But faith in its perspective is really asking a different set of questions. And that’s why I don’t think there needs to be a conflict here. The kinds of questions that faith can help one address are more in the philosophical realm. Why are we all here? Why is there something instead of nothing? Is there a God? Isn’t it clear that those aren't scientific questions and that science doesn’t have much to say about them? But you either have to say, well those are inappropriate questions and we can’t discuss them or you have to say, we need something besides science to pursue some of the things that humans are curious about. For me, that makes perfect sense. But I think for many scientists, particularly for those who have seen the shrill pronouncements from extreme views that threaten what they’re doing scientifically and feel therefore they can’t really include those thoughts into their own worldview, faith can be seen as an enemy.

And similarly, on the other side, some of my scientific colleagues who are of an atheist persuasion are sometimes using science as a club over the head of believers basically suggesting that anything that can’t be reduced to a scientific question isn’t important and just represents superstition that should be gotten rid of.

Part of the problem is, I think the extremists have occupied the stage. Those voices are the ones we hear. I think most people are actually kind of comfortable with the idea that science is a reliable way to learn about nature, but it’s not the whole story and there’s a place also for religion, for faith, for theology, for philosophy. But that harmony perspective does not get as much attention, nobody’s as interested in harmony as they are in conflict, I’m afraid.

Question: How has your study of genetics influenced your faith?

Francis Collins: My study of genetics certainly tells me, incontrovertibly that Darwin was right about the nature of how living things have arrived on the scene, by descent from a common ancestor under the influence of natural selection over very long periods of time. Darwin was amazingly insightful given how limited the molecular information he had was; essentially it didn’t exist. And now with the digital code of the DNA, we have the best possible proof of Darwin’s theory that he could have imagined.

So that certainly tells me something about the nature of living things. But it actually adds to my sense that this is an answer to a "how?" question and it leaves the "why?" question still hanging in the air.

[csbaca]

"I would rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that cannot be questioned."
-Richard Feynman

[anorangewithacapybaraunder]

tell that masses that god is real, a large majority will agree without doubt. Tell them that paint on a chair is dry, they'll touch it first to see before siting down.

[JamesOKeefe-US]

"Nobody's as interested in harmony as they are in conflict..."

Internet has entered the chat

[KawaiiCrafts]

“But that harmony perspective doesn’t get as much attention, nobody’s as interested in harmony as they are in conflict.” TRUE ENOUGH

[crowdedboss]

*Welcome to the comment section, most of you clicked on this video, to see the comments. But lets be honest here you knew what was in the comments already.*

[InsightsInterviews]

Dr. Collins has always been a great inspiration to me. A real class act. Very honored to have had him on our podcast.

[inscrutablemungus]

There is a fundamental difference between acknowledging that science (as we currently know it) cannot answer certain questions and proposing out of the blue an answer and demanding other people to live their lives in a specific way simply to comfort your proposition. I personally have no issue whatsoever with any religious beliefs that a certain person may have, so long as it does not demand anything of other people.

As an early career scientist, I am not convinced by any of the existing religious arguments for the questions that science cannot answer. "We exist because God", or "be nice to other people because God commanded it" is not a sufficient argument for me. I would rather have "I don't currently know why we exist" and "I want to be nice to other people because that's how I'd want to be treated in their shoes" than a blanket appeal to a higher authority. Similarly, with the constants being so 'finely tuned', as someone who's run his share of monte-carlo simulations, it could just be that we are the one in an astronomically large number of universes that happens to have the right constants. Maybe physics will develop to a point where we can intelligently talk about these questions. It's not just shrill attacks on science that leads many scientists to not be religious. Most of them are genuinely not satisfied by the arguments made by existing organized religions.

[karlschuch]

I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned" - Richard Feynman

[pbaylis]

All scientists should be like this guy. Completely open to all possibilities, following the evidence where it leads.

[Aging_Casually_Late_Gamer]

Why is it so difficult? Because God has no explanatory power.

[thomasmaughan]

"Why It's So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God?"
It is hard to believe in something that has not been adequately defined and cannot be tested in a laboratory. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to NOT believe your own experiences (and call it/them "God").

[Soapandwater]

Many people are not comfortable with "I don't know." Therefore make stuff up that suits your fancy.

[djordan]

"The universe doesn't owe an explanation to why we're here" - Neil Degrasse Tyson

[staytheknight]

As a person of faith, I totally agree with what was said. I do wholeheartedly believe in God and that science can’t answer why nature works but how it does. And actually I believe that through science we can actually get closer to God.

[sebilin]

why is it in youtube, when someone says they believe in a god, they just get hate by buthurt people? its like they dont like his opinion or something but go out of their way to ignore his reason why.

[KingofMGS]

I am a christian and i love science, Astronomy would happen to be my favorite. It amazed me when i learned that all elements come from the stars. The more we learn about our universe, the more questions i have but i am not going to put my God in a box.  

[aishasiddiqueyes]

Thank you Dr. Collins. I appreciate you and listening to you helps me

[EngPheniks]

"Science without Religion is lame and Religion without Science is Blind" - Albert Einstein

[squintintarantino]

"Random brainy quote that you'll soon forget" - Me

[oscarwilde]

He makes perfect sense. He's not an extremist on either side. The thumbs down are from people who will never accomplish .0001% of what he's done.