Science and Religion, The Draper-White Conflict Thesis

There is a popular conception that the historical relationship between science and religion has always been one of conflict or even all-out warfare. Historians of science call this the “conflict thesis.” In this short film, historians of science Dr. Lawrence Principe and Dr. Edward Davis examine the roots and social context of the conflict thesis. They explain that the conflict thesis can be traced primarily to the popular works of two 19th century Americans: John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White. This video was produced by the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program as a part of its Science for Seminaries project. See more DoSER videos at https://www.scienceforseminaries.org/.