Published: Nov 29, 2025written by Agana Nsiire, PhD Philosophical Theology, MTh World Christianity, BA Theological Studies   The existence of necessary conflict between science and religion is now so widely discredited that the matter appears decided. Branded “the conflict thesis,” the idea is ridiculed as uncritical, uninformed, and superficial, nothing more than a myth. Many scholars are surprised—and often frustrated—that it persists in popular thinking at all. Yet, even if we reject a thoroughgoing conflict thesis, we must concede that there remain deep and irresolvable conflicts. These occur on two levels: incompatibility of epistemological assumptions, and mutually contradictory claims or conclusions. The matter hinges on how we understand conflict.   The Case Against Conflict The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, 1511. Source: WGA   In their seminal edited volume, God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science, historians David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers (1986) launch one of the strongest attacks against the conflict thesis to date. They identify and refute four species of the thesis, an approach that has …