Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies

Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies

Analyzing the Roots of Incompatibility Between Science and Religion and the Factors Contributing to its Continuation from the 16th to the 20th Century

Document Type : Scholary

Authors
Hasan Reza’i Haftadoor 1
Shadi Nafisi 2
Hossein Pourfarrokh 3
1 Department of Qur’ān and Hadith Sciences faculty of theology College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran
2 Associate professor, faculty of theology and Islamic sciences. University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Qur’ān and Hadith Sciences, faculty of theology, College of Farabi University of Tehran, Qom, Iran
10.22059/jcis.2026.414526.1481
Abstract
Incompatibility between science and religion is one of the most heated debates in the history of humanity. This study adopted a deeper-level analysis compared to previous related studies to inspect the reasons for the appearance and continuation of this issue. To this end, a descriptive-analytical method was adopted using the inductive approach. The factors found included church leaders’ opposition to science, their textualist view of the Bible, amalgamation of the Medieval theology with Aristotelian philosophy, consideration of scientific findings as definitive, lack of a true understanding about the real origin of religion, scientism, the appearance and expansion of anti-metaphysical schools, amalgamation of science and ideology, and incorrect generalization of scientific theories. Nonetheless, further induction and exploration of historical sources on science and religion may lead to the identification of more factors. The most important finding of this study is that the foregoing incompatibility will continue as long as reasons such as the “lack of a true understanding about the real origin of religion,” “scientism,” and “the appearance and expansion of anti-metaphysical schools” are not removed by the Western scientific community. Indeed, these are the main pillars for the continuation of the incompatibility between science and religion. Therefore, it would be apt for the contemporary Islamic studies of science and religion to focus and contemplate the reasons for the continuation of the incompatibility and to provide their solutions in order to reduce or settle the incompatibility between religion and science.
Keywords
Incompatibility roots
factors for the continuation of incompatibility
science and religion
16th and 20th centuries
Subjects
The Holy Qurʼān
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Classical and Contemporary Islamic Studies
Volume 9, Issue 1
Winter & Spring
January 2027
Pages 171-183