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Top 10 Religious Scientists We Thought Were Atheists
The illogical view that science and religion don’t mix is a erroneous in three different places.
First, it commits the either/or fallacy by asserting that a view is either scientific or religious. Design models have some evident support. For example, we see the blending of science and religion in the existence of a Creator based on Big Bang theory as the beginning of the universe.
Second, it commits the straw-man fallacy by assuming that creationists are not interested in scientific methods. This is far from being the case. Creationists are happy to present a ton of scientific evidence for their view, if and when they are permitted. This evidence needs to be addressed instead of disqualified.
A clear hard line between religion and science just isn’t possible. Instead, they’ve worked together through, drawing on the strength of each to give our children a much bigger picture.
This list examines top 10 religious scientists who we all thought were atheist. 4 of them were enlightenment thinkers, an era that was supposed to be “atheist” and anti-god.
10. Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543)
Copernicus was the Polish astronomer who put forward the first mathematically-based system of planets going around the sun. He attended various European universities, and became a Canon in the Catholic church in 1497. His new system was actually first presented in the Vatican gardens in 1533 before Pope Clement VII who approved, and urged Copernicus to publish it around this time. Copernicus was never under any threat of religious persecution – and was urged to publish both by Catholic Bishop Guise, Cardinal Schonberg, and the Protestant Professor George Rheticus. Copernicus referred sometimes to God in his works, and did not see his system as conflicting with the teachings of the Bible.
9. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He was born to a Jewish family and had a lifelong respect for his Jewish heritage. Around the time Einstein was eleven years old he went through a critical religious phase, during which time he followed Jewish religious precepts, including abstaining from eating pork. During this time he composed several songs to honor God. But during most of his life Einstein was not an observant Jew.
Einstein was opposed to the theory atheism. Various sources refer to him as a mostly non-observant Jew, an agnostic, or simply as a person with an idiosyncratic personal worldview; but those theories were fallacious. In fact, Einstein’s Jewish background and upbringing were significant to him, and his Jewish identity was strong, and even increased as he became older. The simple appellation “agnostic” may not be entirely accurate, given his many expressions of belief in a Spinozan concept of Deity. Certainly the adult Einstein was not a kosher-keeping, synagogue-attending traditional adherent of Judaism. But it is accurate enough to call his religious affiliation “Jewish,” with the understanding of the variety encompassed by such a label.
E=MC^2:
In one of Albert Einstein’s revolutionary scientific papers, the theory of E=mc2 was introduced; where E is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light in a vacuum. Since then, E=mc2 probably has been the most famous equation in the world and is widely associated with Einstein. Even people with no background in physics have at least heard of the equation and are aware of its great influence on the world we live in. However, most people do not exactly know what the equation means.
Simply put, this equation explain that mass and energy are two forms of the same thing. In the right condition, mass can turn into energy and energy can turn into mass. Maybe, that is why we humans feel that it is difficult to perceive; because we are too slow in comparison to light. Light moves at a speed of roughly 670 million miles per hour.
8. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630):
Kepler was a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. He did early work on light, and established the laws of planetary motion about the sun. He also came close to reaching the Newtonian concept of universal gravity – way before Newton was born! His introduction of the idea of force in astronomy changed it radically in a modern direction. Kepler was an a practicing Lutheran, whose works on astronomy contain writings about how space and the heavenly bodies represent the Trinity. Kepler suffered no persecution for his beliefs of the sun-centered system, and, indeed, was allowed as a Protestant to stay in Catholic Graz as a Professor (1595-1600) when other Protestants were excommunicated!
7. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo is often remembered for his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. His controversial work on the solar system was published in 1633 and led up to his trial and arrest for being a “heretic”. It is also well-known to all history majors that Galileo was denounced to the Inquisition in 1615 and that he was tried and condemned by the Inquisition in 1633, living the rest of his life under house arrest. It had no proofs of a sun-centered system (Galileo’s telescope discoveries did not indicate a moving earth) and his one “proof” based upon the tides was invalid.
Galileo remained a devout Catholic throughout his life, despite being put on trial and expelled from the church. All of this was for Copernicanism, not for any heretical theological views.” . Additionally, it may be noted that although Galileo himself did not consider his writings about heliocentricity to be heretical, his Catholic leaders at that time did. Today the Catholic Church does not consider heliocentricity or any of Galileo’s writings to be heretical. Pope John Paul II in early 2000s forgave Galeli and finally admitted that the Roman Catholic church was wrong.
6. Rene Descartes (1596-1650):
Descartes was a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher who is often referred to as the father of modern philosophy. His school studies made him dissatisfied with previous philosophy: He had a deep religious faith as a Roman Catholic, which he retained up until his death, along with a resolute, passionate desire to discover the absolute truth. When he was 24, he had a dream, and felt the vocational call to seek to bring knowledge together in one system of thought. His system began by asking what could be known if all else were skeptic – suggesting the famous quote “I think therefore I am”. Actually, it is often forgotten that it was Descartes’ ultimate goal to establish the near certainty of the existence of God. What he really wanted to see was that his philosophy be adopted as standard Roman Catholic teaching.
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