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Jerry Coyne on Religion

born 1949 United States

← All quotes by Jerry Coyne

18 quotes

Everyone else besides the faithful already knows that religion has nothing useful to say to science.

The methodological conflicts between science and religion cannot be brokered, for faith has no reliable way to find truth.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

Because of the hegemony of fundamentalist religion in the United States, this country has been among the most resistant to the fact of human evolution.

Why Evolution is True (2009)

You can find some religions without creationism, but you can’t find creationism without religion.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

Religion has no warrant and no method for decreeing what is and what is not beyond science.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

The most important component of the incompatibility between science and religion is religion’s dependence on faith.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

If religion and science get along so well, why are so many scientists nonbelievers?

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

I have argued that religion is to science as superstition is to reason; indeed, that is the very reason they are incompatible.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

After all, what new insights has religion produced in the last century?

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

“Blasphemy” and “heresy” are terms of religion, not science.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

I’m not a Marxist, but Marx got at least one thing right: for many, religion weakens the incentive to fix both personal and societal problems.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

One can meet all the emotional requisites of a human—except for the assurance that you’ll find a life after death—without the superstitions of religion.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

The conflation of faith as “unevidenced belief” with its vernacular use as “confidence based on experience” is simply a word trick used to buttress religion.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

Religion and xenophobia go together like hot dogs and mustard.

The first argument, that religion is a social necessity and will always be with us, is dubious. It can be demolished with only two words: northern Europe.

Faith vs. Fact (2015)

In religion, faith is a virtue. In science, faith is a vice.

It’s clear that this resistance stems largely from religion. You can find religions without creationism, but you never find creationism without religion.

Why Evolution is True (2009)

"A book review claims that there is no conflict between science and religion, but for dumb reasons" August 9, 2015

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Jerry Coyne (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.