Science versus Religion: The Galileo Affair

Followers of the history of the twentieth century will no doubt disagree with the claim that the media circus surrounding O.J Simpson in the mid 1990’s was the “trial of the century”, in favor of a trial that debated concepts along higher lines of human thought, namely, Darwin’s theories of evolution versus creationism. The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial, which occurred in Dayton, TN in 1925, pitted two great American orators and two sides of thought against each other in a debate of pure science against literal religious beliefs, and modernity against traditional conservative views. The effects from this trial have been so great that the ideas presented and issues raised continue to resonate and remain controversial seventy-five years later. To the American mind, the Scopes Trial is the most recent and vivid example of the frequent incompatibility of science and religion. And as science continues to advance, new controversies appear daily to reaffirm that what Pope John Paul II cal...