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About Science Vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think

About the Book | What People Are Saying | Book Reviews

Science Vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think fills a void in our knowledge by examining the religious views of elite scientists from top U.S. research univeristies. Until now, we have known little about scientists' religious views.

Science vs. Religion presents the findings from the first systematic study of what scientists actually think and feel about religion. In the course of my research, I surveyed nearly 1,700 scientists and interviewed 275 of them. It turns out that most of what we believe about the faith lives of scientists at elite universities is wrong. Nearly 50 percent of them are religious. Many others are "spiritual entrepreneurs," seeking creative ways to work with the tensions between science and faith outside the constraints of traditional religion. And a number of scientists are searching for "boundary pioneers" to cross the picket lines separating science and religion. Only a small minority are actively hostile to religion.

With broad implications for education, science funding, and the thorny ethical questions surrounding stem-cell research, cloning, and other cutting-edge scientific endeavors, Science vs. Religion brings a welcome dose of reality to the science and religion debates.

The book was published by Oxford University Press in May 2010.[PRESS RELEASE]. Check out video of the book release conversation at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, co-sponsored by the Institute for Urban Research, both at Rice University.


William Martin on left, Elaine Ecklund on right
Photo Credit: Stan Kwan

Here's what people are saying about the book:

About the Book | What People Are Saying | Book Reviews

"Since surveys of scientists' religious beliefs began nearly a century ago, no one has produced a study as deep and broad as Ecklund's. Perhaps its most surprising finding is that nearly a quarter of the atheists and agnostics describe themselves as 'spiritual.' Surely Science vs. Religion will be the gold standard of such surveys for decades to come."

--Ronald L. Numbers, Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison


"Drawing on extensive research and interviews, Elaine Howard Ecklund offers an informative, incisive, engaging, and fair-minded narrative of the deeply held-and deeply divergent-ideas about religion among scientists in the academy."

--Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion


"Science vs. Religion presents an important study on a timely subject. The book raises issues that merit serious consideration by anyone who cares about science or religion or the intersection of the two."

--Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne, Fellow, Queens' College, Cambridge


"A fresh perspective. For Ecklund, the bottom line is recognizing and tolerating religious diversity, honestly discussing science's scope and limits, and openly exploring the disputed borders between scientific skepticism and religious faith."

--The Washington Post


"Ecklund's outstanding research--consisting of surveys of nearly 1700 natural and social scientists at major U.S. universities--and judicious recommendations make this a valuable work for all who care about the subject of science and religion."

--Library Journal, Starred Review


"We agree that dispelling myths is an important step towards a more productive relationship between religious and scientific communitites; Ecklund's pioneering work offers critically important information toward dispelling those myths."

--Books & Culture



Photo Credit: Stan Kwan

Here's what reviewers had to say:

About the Book | What People Are Saying | Book Reviews

January 21, 2011
The Comment: What Scientists Believe

October 20, 2010
Christianity Today: Looking Over the Fence

September 21, 2010
Metapsychology Online Book Review

September 16, 2010
Times Higher Education: Book of the Week

September 13, 2010
Books & Culture Pg. 1, Pg. 2

August 2, 2010
Journey with Jesus

June 25, 2010
Englewood Review of Books

June 6, 2010
International Books Digest

May 30, 2010
Washington Post

May 17, 2010
Christianity Today

April 12, 2010
Publisher's Weekly

April 8, 2010
Chronicle of Higher Education