Can Scientists be Religious?

[RINO Tom]

Yes, but I think that any scientist who is more than a soft believer (ie someone who is willing to admit that they could be wrong) holds conflicting views. People hold all sorts of conflicting views in spite of all evidence or reason, however, so I’m not sure this debate is framed properly.

Would a scientist who isn't necessarily religious (in the sense of subscribing to a religion's teachings, however liberally or conservatively) but is fairly set on believing a creator is the most likely explanation for the formation of our existence qualify as a soft believer or a - err - hard believer?

[All Along The Watchtower]

I suppose we can't now ask the scientists and other intellectuals and scholars working in Catholic and Protestant universities in Europe - or the scientists of the Islamic "Golden Age" - whether they truly believed in God.

[Georg Ebner]

I suppose we can't now ask the scientists and other intellectuals and scholars working in Catholic and Protestant universities in Europe - or the scientists of the Islamic "Golden Age" - whether they truly believed in God.

...and they usually couldn't give an intelligent answer.

[muon2]

I suppose we can't now ask the scientists and other intellectuals and scholars working in Catholic and Protestant universities in Europe - or the scientists of the Islamic "Golden Age" - whether they truly believed in God.

Isaac Newton was well known for his theological writings even as he was recognized as the greatest mathematical mind of his age. You can't ask him, but I think his writings speak on his behalf.

I have worked with a number of scientist-believers. One of my former experimental colleagues was also a member of my church.

[Storebought]

Yes, of course. The idea that a scientist must be an atheist/skeptic/agnostic as a job requirement is a deeply silly one.