• Question: Do you hav a religion, if yes, then which one?

    Asked by penguin27 to Emma, James, Jayne, Kara, Sharon on 17 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 13 Mar 2011:

      Hi Penguin,

      I don’t follow any religion.
      sharon

    • Photo: Jayne Charnock

      Jayne Charnock answered on 13 Mar 2011:

      Hi again Penguin,

      I’m a Christian, I was brought up Church of England but am now converting to Catholism after getting married to my Catholic husband.

      I find different religions views on different aspects of science fascinating, especially since my husband is an RE teacher- we have lots of great debates about ethical issues surrounding science and how different religions deal with them! I think that that is very important as a scientist, to always think about whether what we are doing is ethically right. Religion and ethics aren’t exclusively connected but I find my faith a good guide to helping me understand, question and challenge what I believe is the right thing to do.

    • Photo: Emma King

      Emma King answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      Yes, I’m a Christian. Used to be in the Church of England but I joined the Church of Scotland when I moved to Edinburgh. Being a Christian doesn’t affect my work as much as people always assume it will, I’m actually very pro embryonic stem cell research for instance. I think within the Christian community there are many many people who are willing to sit down and have very good discussions about science and I think that having a religion makes it easier for me to understand different points of view. What I don’t like is when people use their religion to argue for or against something without really understanding it or taking the time to think about it. I also don’t think people should impose their personal views on anybody else, if you don’t want a therapy that’s made using embryonic stem cells then don’t have it, but don’t try and stop the research completely.

    • Photo: James Chan

      James Chan answered on 15 Mar 2011:

      Hi Penguin27, it’s a great question because most people think that scientists and religion don’t mix. What I’d say is that being a scientist does not stop people from being great people and leading a decent life, making the lives of those around them better. In a way, science people need to feel the urge to help people to do what they do – most of us in the medical sciences ultimately want to help others with our research. The other thing is, because we’re researching in things that nobody knows – there are no longer text books that give you answers when you come to research – then you need a certain amount of faith to keep going when your experiments do not show what you expect! I personally try to lead a christian life but I kind of feel that there’s a nice guy upstairs, whatever you’d like to call him/her, and we should just strive to be good neighbours to each other. At the end of the day, you treat people like you’d want to be treated. =)

    • Photo: Kara Cerveny

      Kara Cerveny answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      This is a great question, because many people think that you can’t be religious and be a scientist. I think that being a scientist has made me a bit more skeptical and pragmatic about religion, but I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. I am a Christian. I believe that the teachings of Jesus provide a good blueprint to live an honest and loving life. I also believe that many other religions provide valuable insight into the spiritual and ethical foundations of my life and the lives of all people. This is why I practice yoga and meditation as well as attend church.

      For me, science and religion provide different ways of seeing and interacting with the world. As such, scientific investigations and the idea of evolution explain the biological and physical world, while holy texts and philosophical tomes provide ways to think about the unseeable and untestable aspects of human life.

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