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Meeting on Nuclear Winter
During this time, Gould was staying at a hotel in the Vatican with a number of priests who were also scientists like he was. At lunch time, the priests proceeded to ask Gould what the talk in America was about "scientific creationism" (the idea that every word of the Bible must be literally true so science must then be reexplained in light of the Bible). They wondered if evolution was up for question because they were devout Catholics who also believed in evolution. -
"Truth Cannot Contradict Truth"
Pope John Paul II made a statement in which he defended evolution and explained that the theory went along with Catholic religious beliefs. During this time Gould pondered why this statement was having such an impact and why it was making headlines because he felt evolution never challenged religion. -
Student's Question
After almost 30 years of teaching, Gould was approached by a student who asked him if he could be Christian and believe in evolution. Again, Gould was puzzled by people's tendency to relate science and religion, but he explained that evolution did not contradict religion. -
Nonoverlapping Magisteria
Gould put into words his thoughts on the relationship between science and religion in an essay he published in 1997. He essentially said that science and religion are not at war with each other because they concern different things or, rather, they seek to explain different things. Gould referred to this as nonoverlapping magisteria - each field has its own area of expertise and they do not overlap.
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVd6MDLSYVA