how accommodating can you get? « weird things: "One of the accommodationists’ favorite tenants is that religion and science pursue different knowledge so in theory, they should have no problem co-existing. But the reality is very different. Religion is a social construct which exists to perpetuate its traditions rather than actually acquire any new insight. All the knowledge it wants is already contained in its holy books and the lengthy ruminations on them. Those who feel inspired to go out and explore, find themselves in the realm of science, a bureaucratic entity which gathers, documents and sifts through new knowledge. It started off as a nearly blank slate and its entire purpose is to find new information and grow with each discovery.
The conflict between the two spheres happens when scientists discover something that contradicts religious dogma and the people who rigidly follow their holy texts mount a campaign to defend their worldview from the new information. Do you honestly think that fundamentalists are interested in broadening their horizons when their primary concern is to make sure everyone around them does as they say? In the supposed war between science and religion, the actual facts take a back seat. Rather, the debate is about whether we could pick and choose our personal worldview regardless of the facts. Creationists aren’t mad because they did a study that found major contradictions in evolutionary biology. They’re mad because scientists dare to tell the world about evolution and use facts they passionately want to ignore to teach this knowledge in schools.
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