Abstract
Science education and Christian education are not compatible if by’’Christian education‘‘ one means teaching someone to be a Christian. Onegoal of science education is to give students factual knowledge. Even whenthere is no actual conflict of this knowledge with the dogmas ofChristianity, there exists the potential for conflict. Another goal ofscience education is to teach students to have the propensity to be sensitiveto evidence: to hold beliefs tentatively in light of evidence and to rejectthese beliefs in the light of new evidence if rejection is warranted by thisevidence. This propensity conflicts with one way in which beliefs are oftentaught in Christian education: namely as fundamental dogmas, rather than assubject to revision in the light of the evidence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alston, William P.: 1967, ‘Religion’, in Paul Edwards (ed.), Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Macmillan and Free Press, New York, NY, 7, 140–145.
Beardsley, Monroe C. and Beardsley, Elizabeth Lane: 1965, Philosophical Thinking: An Introduction, Harcourt, Brace and World, New York, NY.
Butler, J. Donald: 1962, Religious Education, Harper and Row, New York, NY.
Coe, George Albert. 1917, A Social Theory of Religious Education, Scribners, New York, NY.
Diamond, Malcolm L. and Litzenburg, Thomas V. (ed.): 1975, The Logic of God, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
Kitcher, Philip: 1982, Abusing Science, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Lacey, Hugh: 1966, ‘On Relations Between Science and Religion’, Science and Education 5, 143–153.
Little, Lawrence C.: 1962, Foundations For A Philosophy of Christian Education, Abingdon Press, NY.
Mahner, Martin and Bunge, Mario: 1996a ‘Is Religous Education Compatible With Science Education?’, Science and Education 5, 101–123.
Mahner, Martin and Bunge, Mario: 1996b ‘The Incompatibility of Science and Religion Sustained: A Reply to Our Critics’, Science and Education 5, 189–199.
Martin, Michael: 1972, Concepts of Science Education, Scott, Foresman & Co., Chicago, IL.
Martin, Michael: 1991, The Case Against Christianity, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA.
Martin, Michael: Forthcoming: ‘Why the Resurrection is Initially Improbable’, Free Inquiry.
Miller, Randolph C.: 1950, The Clue to Christian Education, Scribners, New York, NY.
Poole, Michael: 1966, ‘... for more and better religious education’, Science and Education 5, 165–174.
Settle, Tom: 1996, ‘Applying Scientific Openmindedness to Religion and Science Education’, Science and Education 5, 125–141.
Siegel, Harvey: 1985. ‘What is the Question Concerning the Rationality of Science?’, Philosophy of Science 52, 517–537.
Suchting, Wallis A.: 1994, ‘Notes on the Cultural Significance of the Sciences’, Science and Education 3, 1–56.
Turner, Harold: 1996, ‘Religion: Impediment or Saviour Of Science’, Science and Education 5, 155–164.
Ulich, Robert; 1968, A History of Religious Education, New York University Press, New York, NY.
White, Morton: 1966, ‘Religion and the Higher Learning’, in Israel Scheffler (ed.), Philosophy and Education, Allyn and Bacon, Inc., Boston, MA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MARTIN, M. Is Christian Education Compatible With Science Education?. Science & Education 6, 239–249 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008667307356
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008667307356