Human Evolution coexistence with Religion

However, concerning certain theories, such as the origin of the earth and life, different beliefs coming from each of the areas definitely contradict, leaving human-beings believers of either of the two areas of knowledge. Human religion cannot co-exist with religion due to various reasons and more importantly after the appearance of pre-human and Neanderthal skulls were found as this widened the gap between religion and human evolution. Therefore, it is essential to focus on human evolution and religion while exploring some of the reason why the two cannot co-exist. Human Evolution and Religion It is inarguable that the issue between Science and Religion is an ongoing debate which has never dubbed either of the areas of knowledge as the flawless foundation to follow.

However, there remain three significant points in which this debate can be discussed, ultimately pointing out whether science and religion are actually compatible. For example, the committed Christian Asa Gray, a scientist in Harvard, was a supporter of Darwin (Wood, 2012). Moreover, there have been theories which have mixed both views, as James McCosh suggested that evolution, as Darwin has described it, is an act of God which ultimately created life. Surely, more conservative Christians all over the world opposed Darwin from the beginning. For example, Charles Hodge published a book rejecting Darwinism, arguing that Darwin’s views left no room for the existence of God. Christianity is against human evolution as it is considered to be blasphemy and it is unacceptable in Christianity since it goes against creation and the world of God (Fuller 2011, p.

Christian believers state that Darwin has rejected the doctrines of Christianity, stating several areas where he was “against God” (Grigg 2014, p. First, they state that Darwin has rejected Genesis as true history, as they believe that Darwin has embraced the wrong worldview by stating the Old Testament tend to depict false history about the world and this what brings about conflicts between evolution and religion. Moreover, Darwin has also shown rejection of the miracles of Christianity. He states that he does not believe in miracles anything to do with religion because God does not exist and evolution is all that brought about human existence in the first place and human life does not belong to anyone (Darwin, 1859). This was the statement that brought about conflict between the two.

As is the situation with Christianity, there has also been a debate among Muslims concerning the co-existence of evolution by natural selection, as stated by Darwin, with the Organic teachings. Hussain (2013), states that the number of Muslim scientists is increasing and they suggestions about the theory of evolution. However, the belief in evolution amongst Muslims remain unpredictable. Studies have been conducted to show that “sixteen percent of Indonesians, fourteen percent of Pakistanis, fourteen percent of Turks, and eleven percent of Malaysians, as well as eight percent of Egyptians, tend to believe that evolution is real. In comparison, to those who believe in evolution in most European nations and they are over 60 percent. Yet, the fact that there remains no proof, religious or scientific, gives higher weight to the option of incompatibility.

Co-existence will never be realized as both oppose each other’s claims. Naturalistic Evolution and Theistic Evolution Similar to the debate between Darwin’s views on evolution and religion, there exists a debate between the believers in the theistic evolution theory and the believers of the naturalistic evolution theory. The theistic evolution theory of creation are views that regard religious views as compatible with modern scientific studies about biological evolution. However, a misconception exists that theistic evolution is a scientific theory, however, it is actually only a range of views which connect religious beliefs with scientific discoveries. Conclusion Stenger (2011, p. 428), believes that when looking at historical facts, it can be clearly seen that there is a clear incompatibility between religion and science.

He states that Greece and Rome were all on their way to make new scientific discoveries before the churches at their times interrupted their improvements for a thousand years. Moreover, the fact that the evolution, that occurred in the 18th century, happened directly after the revolution against the authority of the church in the Renaissance shows that the improvement of thought was often hindered by religion. As for the people who believe in the mixture of both as their sources of knowledge, he states that these people have compartmentalized brains which are divided into two sections that are not in contact. Religion: Has Darwin Failed? - SPIEGEL ONLINE. [online] SPIEGEL ONLINE. Available at: http://www. spiegel. de/international/world/science-vs-religion-has-darwin-failed-a-602644. Mangel, M.