People often argue that science is actually a religion in itself, so it’s no better or worse than other religions.

Thing is, there’s a crucial difference between the two.

In mathematical terms, science is all about variables, whereas religion is all constants.

Religion says, “We believe X is true, and we only acknowledge supporting evidence. Any evidence showing X to be false is wrong.”

Science, on the other hand, says, “Evidence to date suggests that X is true. However, if new data shows us that X is actually false, we will update our theories accordingly.”

This cartoon I found sums it up pretty well:



Scientists (good ones anyways) are willing to rewrite their textbooks in light of new data.

On the other hand, I don’t think a church would ever issue a statement saying, “New evidence suggests that the world was actually created in 5 days, as opposed to 7. We will be releasing an updated edition of the Bible with the appropriate corrections.”