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This has been an important topic for thousands of years, and looking through forums on the Internet you can still see the battle (sometimes more of a scuffle with toy weapons).

I've always been interested in the sides who can't reconcile but must sand alone. We probably think we know the other argument by heart. But I would like to know why you believe in your position on this issue, and, if you are an all or nothing type of person, why that is.

In my mind, the two have always been reconciled. I grew up with an atheist scientist father and a liberal Christian mother. Science isn't infallible, as I've been taught, and neither is religion. Both try to explain the unknowable, and don't get it right the first time. I think of religion as the emotional aspect of the why question and science as the rational. Both can be so wonderful and yet so disastrous that sometimes I think they're a couple.

So, you?

It's funny.. with recent developments in human understanding science has really become the new religion

People follow it just as blindly

For me, science is a way to explain the physical word we exist in. I personally believe in God, Jesus, Mary, etc, and that we should turn the other cheek, do unto others, and love, but I also believe in the big bang theory, evolution, and science in general. (And a question for all: Despite all my "Christian" beliefs, and my self-labelling as a Christian, I'm technically not. Can you guess why?)

There are things that science cannot explain... yet. wink And even if it can explain love, personality, bonds of friendship, admiration... you know, all that stuff, it still can't explain why we're here or what happens to us beyond death (unless it is that we don't happen beyond death, which I personally have a very difficult time dealing with).

As for religion, I believe that it is a way to control the masses, at least in part. If you take a look at the Catholic Church (no offense to anyone Catholic, myself included), a great part of their time has been spent trying to take over and keep their power, e.g. the Crusades and their struggles with various kings over who has ulitmate power in a kingdom. In addition, if you look at how the Romans tried to wipe out Christianity before it got it's feet off the ground, you can see how they were using they're religion to
control other people.

In regards to what Dienoysos wrote, I find it funny how people persecute religious individuals for believing in their faith, while they blindly follow the teachings of science.

So, in short,
Science: explains physical world
Faith/Spirituality: explains what's beyond the physical world
Religion: gives people a faith to believe in, so they don't have to think for themselves.

I think if you are accepting enough, the two tend to go together very well. Science can easily fit in with religion.