Forum on Public Policy Bridging The Gap Between Science And Faith Through Environmental Studies: Theoretical Considerations And Implications For Environmental Policy And Practice

The metaphysical implications of some of the scientific advances of the twentieth century have been under-appreciated to a considerable degree in terms of their potential to provide a theoretical bridge between science-based and faith-based understanding. In fact, even the bedrock scientific disciplines, such as physics and mathematics, can be seen to contribute greatly to a theoretical perspective that provides a deeper appreciation of the validity of these different approaches to knowledge, both through rational science and intuitive faith. The complementarity paradigm of quantum mechanics and the incompleteness theorems of mathematical logic provide examples supporting the existence of a mind-independent reality, akin to the Platonic ideal form, which cannot be entirely explained on a rational basis alone but which must be partly appreciated intuitively. Although it remains unclear how this perspective may help resolve all conflicts of science and faith, another area of recent scientific and religious inquiry, namely the environment, appears to offer great promise for uniting these theoretical lines of thought to provide some reconciliation of the two on a practical level. For example, environmental science and ecotheology both share a common understanding of rational and intuitive arguments for protecting the environment that incorporate appreciation of principles of science as well as religion. Furthermore, applications that combine the strengths of both environmental science and ecotheology are much more likely to be successful in influencing environmental policies and practices than reliance on either alone. Thus, environmental studies can make a significant contribution not only to building a better world but also to building a better bridge between science and faith. “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. ” Albert Einstei