The relationship between science and Christian faith has been a growing area of discussion in recent decades. More and more research has explored the personal faith journeys of people in the sciences, particularly focusing on how they see their faith and their vocation as scientists coming together in positive ways. Some wonderful resources include:
Books
Bancewicz, Ruth. God in the Lab: How Science Enhances Faith. Oxford: Monarch. 2015.
Bancewicz, Ruth. Test of Faith: Spiritual Journeys with Scientists. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock. 2010
Berry, R.J. True Scientists, True Faith. Oxford: Lion Hudson. 2015.
Collins, F. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York: Simon and Shuster. 2006.
Ecklund, Elaine Howard, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think fills a void in our knowledge by examining the religious views of elite scientists from top U.S. research universities. Until now, we have known little about scientists’ religious views. Science vs. Religion presents the findings from the first systematic study of what scientists actually think and feel about religion. In the course of Elaine’s research, she surveyed nearly 1,700 scientists and then interviewed 275 of them. It turns out that most of what we believe about the faith lives of scientists at elite universities is wrong. Nearly 50 percent of them are religious. Many others are “spiritual entrepreneurs,” seeking creative ways to work with the tensions between science and faith outside the constraints of traditional religion. And a number of scientists are searching for “boundary pioneers” to cross the picket lines separating science and religion. Only a small minority are actively hostile to religion.
Frankenberry, N.K. The Faith of Scientists: In Their Own Words. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2008.
Haarsma, D. and Hoezee, S. Delight in Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church. Grand Rapids: Center for Excellence in Preaching. 2012
McHargue, Mike. Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science . Convergent. 2016. From the host of the popular podcasts, The Liturgists Podcast and Ask Science Mike, a story of having faith, losing it, and finding it again through science—revealing how the latest in neuroscience, physics, and biology help us understand God, faith, and ourselves. What do you do when God dies? It’s a question facing millions today, as science reveals a Universe that’s self-creating, American culture departs from Christian social norms, and the idea of God begins to seem implausible at best and destructive at worst. Mike McHargue understands the pain of unraveling belief. In Finding God in the Waves, Mike tells the story of how his Evangelical faith dissolved into atheism as he studied the Bible, a crisis that threatened his identity, his friendships, and even his marriage. Years later, Mike was standing on the shores of the Pacific Ocean when a bewildering, seemingly mystical moment motivated him to take another look. But this time, it wasn’t theology or scripture that led him back to God—it was science. In Finding God in the Waves, “Science Mike” draws on his personal experience to tell the unlikely story of how science led him back to faith. Among other revelations, we learn what brain scans reveal about what happens when we pray; how fundamentalism affects the psyche; and how God is revealed not only in scripture, but in the night sky, in subatomic particles, and in us. For the faithful and skeptic alike, Finding God in the Waves is a winsome, lucid, page-turning read about belonging, life’s biggest questions, and the hope of knowing God in an age of science.
Richardson, M. and Slack, G. (Editors). Faith in Science: Scientists Search for Truth. London: Routledge. 2001.
Video Clips:
Test of Faith, a multimedia resource from the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion (Cambridge University) provides many short video interview clips with Christians in the sciences: Stories – From Christians who are also Scientists
St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, a Church of England congregation in London, has produced some excellent short videos with scientists in their congregation talking about their integration of science with their Christian faith: Science a Personal View