Science and Christianity in Pulpit and Pew

As past president of both the History of Science Society and the American Society of Church History, Ronald L. Numbers draws from his unique experiences to assess the historical relations between science and Christianity. In this collection of his most recent essays, he moves beyond the cliches of conflict and harmony to explore the tangled web of historical interactions involving scientific and religious beliefs. These chapters clarify the history of science and Christianity by examining the intersection of laypeople, theologians, and overarching cultural trends. Numbers offers an unprecedented view from the perspectives of the ordinary people who filled church pews-or who loitered outside churches. Far from ignoring opinion makers in the pulpit, however, Numbers looks closely at two of the most influential Protestant theologians in nineteenth-century America: Charles Hodge and William Henry Green. In "Science without God," he traces the millennia-long history of so-called methodological naturalism, the commitment to explaining the natural world without appeals to the supernatural. Numbers ends his reassessment by arguing that although science has markedly changed the world we live in, it has contributed less to secularizing it than many have claimed.

About the Author:
Ronald L. Numbers is Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine and of Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison