On Religion and Science and Money’s Power to Corrupt

Friesel Replies: The danger posed to society by such attempts as the Templeton Prize to meld science and religion is greater than perhaps all other forms of corruption of the sciences. To address with honesty and integrity the weightier questions of such a melding leads to discussions that are brief, ancient, and quickly exhausted.

Those who attempt to remove evolution theory from the science curriculum of our schools, or who insist that the universe is 10‥000 years old because a holy book says so and that all of physics must conform to this time line, are not trying merely to establish a scientific career or skim a few tens of thousands of dollars in program funding. They are trying to change the way we and our children think. They are not trying to establish dialogue between scientists and believers. They are attempting to replace science with dogma and myth. Theirs is a socially regressive, dishonest, and destructive program. The Templeton Prize seduces scientists to help turn this program into reality.

If anything I’ve written indicates that I believe miracles occur, I apologize for being unclear; I have no particular opinion on the subject.