The first café. We were lucky enough to be joined by Dr. Mary Tatner from Glasgow University, who kindly volunteered herself to present a background to the question of "Can science and religion co-exist?"
The café took place in one of the school's science laboratories, where pupils provided tea, biscuits, and coffee in a bid to secure more interested parties, resulting in approximately fifteen of the sixth year pupils attending.
Dr. Tatner began by asking for pupils' opinions towards the subject, showing a crowd largely against the notion of religion in scientific fields. She then provided a speech as to her personal situation - she considered herself a christian and claimed it had never affected her work as a scientist. Despite this, she did reveal one exception - having to leave a job in a fertility clinic due to her religious stance. While it could also be seen as a moral decision, it was also brought up in discussion that most morals have roots in religion. Facing a largely secular audience, there was a degree of cynicism towards religion, and statements such as the latter were faced with retorts that morals initially grew from a desire for a harmonious society, only to be adopted by religions later.
Dr. Tatner spent much of the debate reasoning with the sceptics, sharing her belief that christianity, and many other religions, act merely as guidelines, an aid with which you may live your life more easily. The crowd left still in heated debate, with a general consensus that the only way in which one's religion should affect their work is if they decide to let it, it is up to us as individuals to make our own choices as to what moral codes we follow and decisions as to why we follow them. While little was resolved, the afternoon was thought-provoking and provided a well-needed outlet through which we could voice our thoughts.
Related Links
University of Glasgow Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences
Wikipedia - 'The relationship between religion and science'
