B.S.:
Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. First mathematical system of planets going around Sun. Attended European universities. 1497 Became Canon in Catholic Church. 1533 Presented his system at Vatican. Pope Clement VII approved, urged Copernicus to publish; also by Catholic Bishop Guise, Cardinal Schonberg, and Protestant Professor George Rheticus. Copernicus never under threat of persecution. Referred to God in his works. Did not see his system in conflict with Bible.
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1627) Philosopher. Established Scientific Method for discovery of truth, service to country and Church. Rejected atheism: “…a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity.”
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) Mathematician, Astronomer. Early work on light. Established laws of planetary motion. Came close to Newtonian concept of universal gravity. His idea of force changed astronomy radically. Extremely sincere, pious Lutheran. Works contain writings how space, heavenly bodies represent the Trinity. Suffered no persecution for open avowal of sun-centered system. Allowed to stay in Catholic Graz as a Professor (1595-1600) when other Protestants had been expelled!
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) 1633 Published controversial work on solar system. No proofs of sun-centered system. Telescope discoveries did not indicate moving earth. His proof based on tides was invalid. He ignored Kepler’s elliptical orbits. Put Pope’s argument in mouth of simpletons, offending his old friend. Forbidden to teach sun-centered system. Did useful theoretical work on dynamics. Expressly said the Bible cannot err. Saw his system as alternate interpretation of biblical texts.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) Mathematician, Scientist, Father of modern philosophy. Roman Catholic. Retained deep faith. At 24, sought to gather knowledge in one system of thought. Asked what could be known if all else doubted. Proposed “I think therefore I am.” Sought to establish God’s existence. Only if God exists and would not want us deceived by experiences, can we trust senses and logical thought processes. Wanted his God centered philosophy adopted as standard Roman Catholic teaching.
(Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon regarded as key figures in development of scientific methodology. Both had systems in which God was important, and both seem more devout than the average for their era.)
Isaac Newton (1642-1727) Genius, innovator in Optics, Mechanics, Mathematics, Chemistry. Saw mathematics, numbers central in all. Devoutly religious. Considerable work in biblical numerology. Aspects of beliefs not orthodox, but thought theology very important. In his system, God essential to nature, absoluteness of space. From Principia: “The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being.”
Robert Boyle (1791-1867) Chemist. Founder, key member of Royal Society. Encyclopedia Britannica: “His will endowed lectures ‘for proving the Christian religion against notorious infidels.’ Devout Protestant. Promoted Christian religion, giving money to translate, publish New Testament into Irish, Turkish. In 1690, developed theological views in The Christian Virtuoso, to show study of nature a central religious duty.” Wrote against atheists. More devoutly Christian than average in his era.
Michael Faraday (1791-1867) Son of blacksmith. One of greatest scientists of the 19th century. Work on electricity, magnetism revolutionized physics, and led to modern lifestyles, (computers, telephone lines, etc). Devout Christian member of Sandemanians, which significantly influenced and strongly affected way in which he approached, interpreted nature. Originating from Presbyterians, the Sandemanians rejected idea of state churches, tried to go back to New Testament Christianity.
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) Abbot. Laid mathematical foundation of genetics in 1856 (3 years before Darwin published Origin of Species). Unknown until 1900, when botanists, rediscovered him. 1860’s notable for X-Clubs, dedicated to lessen religious influence, propagate image of conflict between science and religion. Darwin’s cousin, geneticist Francis Galton, a proponent of eugenics, wrote how the “priestly mind” not conducive to science, while a monk made breakthroughs in genetics.
William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907) Physicist. More religious than average for era. Physicists George Gabriel Stokes (1819-1903) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) also of deep Christian faith in era when many nominal, apathetic, or anti-Christian. Encyclopedia Britannica: “Maxwell regarded as scientist of 19th century who had greatest influence on 20th century physics; ranked with Newton, Einstein for fundamental contributions.” Creationist, estimated Earth 20-100M yrs, upper limit 500M.
Max Planck (1858-1947) Physicist. Quantum Theory. Revolutionized understanding of atomic, sub-atomic worlds. 1937 lecture “Religion and Naturwissenschaft” expressed view God everywhere present: “holiness of the unintelligible Godhead conveyed by holiness of symbols.” Atheists attach too much importance to symbols. Believed in almighty, all-knowing, beneficent God; that Science, religion wage “tireless battle against skepticism, dogmatism… against unbelief, superstition” with goal “toward God!”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Physicist. Britannica: “Firmly denying atheism, expressed belief in ‘Spinoza’s God who reveals himself in the harmony of what exists.’ Said to physicist “I want to know how God created this world, I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.” On Uncertainty Principle “God does not play dice.” On religion “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
In 1616 the Inquisition warned Galileo not to hold or defend the hypothesis asserted in Copernicus' On the Revolutions, though it has been debated whether he was admonished not to 'teach in any way' the heliocentric theory.That sure sounds like the church supported science, eh? What a joke!Despite his continued insistence that his work in the area was purely theoretical, despite his strict following of the church protocol for publication of works (which required prior examination by church censors and subsequent permission), and despite his close friendship with Maffeo Barberini who later became Pope Urban VIII and presided throughout the ordeal, Galileo was forced to recant his views repeatedly and was put under life-long house arrest (1633-1642).
The Inquisition had rejected earlier pleas by Galilei to postpone or relocate the trial because of his ill health. At a meeting presided by Pope Urban VIII, the Inquisition decided to notify Galilei that he either had to come to Rome or that he would be arrested and brought there in chains. Galileo arrived in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition on February 13, 1633. After two weeks in quarantine, Galilei was detained at the comfortable residence of the Tuscan ambassador, as a favor to the influential Grand Duke Ferdinand II de' Medici. In April 1633 he was formally interrogated by the Inquisition. He was not imprisoned in a dungeon cell, but detained in a room in the offices of the Inquisition for 22 days.
On June 22, 1633, the Roman Inquisition started its trial against Galilei, who was then 69 years old and pleaded for mercy, pointing to his "regrettable state of physical unwellness". Threatening him with torture, imprisonment and death on the stake, the show trial forced Galileo to "abjure, curse and detest" his work and to promise to denounce others who held his prior viewpoint. Galileo did everything the church requested him to do. (The idea that he muttered Eppur si muove! - "But it moves anyway!" - is a legend.) That the threat of torture and death Galileo was facing was a real one had been proven by the church in the earlier trial against Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake in 1600 for holding a naturalistic view of the Universe [emphasis added].
Galileo was sentenced to prison but because of his advanced age was allowed to serve his term under house arrest at his villas in Arcetri and Florence. Because of a painful hernia, he requested permission to consult physicians in Florence, which was denied by Rome, warning that further such requests would lead to imprisonment. Under arrest, he was forced to recite penitentiary psalms regularly, and his social contacts were highly restricted, but he was allowed to continue his less controversial research and publish under strict rules of censorship. He went totally blind in 1638 (his petition to the Inquisition to be released was rejected, but he was allowed to move to his house in Florence where he was closer to his physicians). His Dialogue was put on the Index librorum prohibitorum, a black list of banned books, until 1822. Source
Since The Enlightenment we don't have to kowtow to the shamans and what they think of science, and I wish you fundamentalists would learn that.