More information on Catholic churches views on science

[k5thbeatle]

Hi, this looked like the most appropriate forum to ask this question so I am hoping some can point me to more information regarding the Churches philosophy and stance on science now and historically? I apologize if this is the incorrect forum?

I have colleagues that constantly pull the “Catholic church and Catholics philosophies are against science” argument and would like some materials to counter this with. It’s such a silly argument to make but I often find myself at a loss for words and would appreciate any reference material on the subject.

Thanks

 

[porthos11]

One example disproves the rule. Do you know who postulated the Big Bang theory?

Look it up (it’s an easy Google search), then come back and see if the Catholic Church was indeed opposed to science.

 

[polytropos]

I think whoever is claiming that the Catholic Church is opposed to science would be taking the burden of proof upon himself. Anyone making such a claim would be required to provide evidence.

You might study up on the Galileo trial, since it is in the popular perception an example of the Catholic Church’s “stifling” of scientific progress. A good book is How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Obviously a bit stilted, but it does give a good account of the Galileo trial. Particularly, Galileo was encouraged to teach his findings as a theory, since he had not acquired enough empirical evidence to teach them as more than a theory. Nevertheless he did teach them as fact, and he was put under house arrest.

Other objections to the Catholic Church probably take the position that its moral positions are antithetical to science, but while those might have some rhetorical force, they don’t really show anything. The Catholic Church does not support embryonic stem cell research or the use of contraceptives; some argue that the Church is therefore opposing the advances of science. But it’s pretty obvious that one is not necessarily opposed to science simply because one does not embrace every technology. (One is not “opposed to science” because he doesn’t support the use of an atomic bomb.)

Those who are saying such things about the Church surely disagree with its moral positions, but that’s not really what’s at stake in a discussion of the Catholic Church’s attitude toward science. Like everyone else, the Catholic Church fully embraces all scientific developments which it does not consider immoral; it has no beef with science as science.

 

[adawgj]

The Catholic Church has been patron of the sciences for centuries.

St. Thomas Aquinas and Roger Bacon who were both clergy helped create the scientific method.
Vatican Observatory which is run mainly by the Society of Jesus.
Monseigneur Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître developed the Big Bang Theory.
Augustinian priest Gregor Mendel was the founder of genetics.
Andreas Vesalius who was a Catholic scientist helped find the field of Anatomy
Louis Pasteur was a Catholic scientist who helped discover germs.

Dr. Anthony Rizzi who is a modern Catholic physicist solved an 80 year old problem in Einstein’s theory of relativity.