Abstract:
A popular inclination into which we are all too prone to slip is the notion that science and
religion are fundamentally and necessarily at odds. Recent developments have given credence to
this inclination, as members of anti-scientific religious and atheistic scientific camps continue to
decry each other as the world’s departure from the true approach to reality. Despite the depth of
the inculcation of this exclusionist paradigm, it is a relatively new phenomenon that is difficult to
locate with significant prevalence before the European Enlightenment. This paper presents an
overview of the histories of science, religion, and their competition that show the any antagonism
observed in either or both discipline is the result of undue distortions meant to garner hegemonic
power over Europe and America. It then responds to these innovations by recasting science and
religion into their respective appropriate domains, concluding that when this is done the two are
entirely intellectually compatible.
