Nick Spencer, "The Landscapes of Science and Religion: What Are We Disagreeing About?" (Oxford UP, 2025)

Aug 24, 2025

Nick Spencer, a Senior Fellow at Theos and an expert in the interplay of science and religion, tackles the complex relationship between the two. He discusses how contemporary advancements in genetics and AI challenge traditional views, raising questions about 'playing God.' Spencer urges for clear definitions of both science and religion, revealing their multifaceted nature. He probes into historical conflicts and compatibilities, advocating for a dialogue that uncovers shared values and encourages collaborative ethical decision-making.

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INSIGHT

Define Before Debating

Spencer argues we must define 'science' and 'religion' before judging their relationship.
He says both terms are not self-evident and require careful exploratory work.

INSIGHT

Family Resemblance Approach

Spencer adopts a Wittgensteinian 'family resemblance' approach to meanings.
He says science and religion are clusters of practices with graduated, not crisp, boundaries.

ANECDOTE

Hundred+ Expert Interviews

Spencer describes interviewing over a hundred experts across disciplines for diverse views.
This empirical approach informed their family-resemblance mapping of science and religion.

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The relationship between science and religion has long been a heated debate and is becoming an ever more popular topic. The scientific capacity to manipulate and change humans and their environment through genetic engineering, life extension, and AI is going to take a huge leap forward in the twenty-first century, provoking endless debates around humans “playing God”.

But what do we mean by this? Asking this question is surprisingly hard work. Attempts to 'essentialise' science, let alone religion, quickly run into trouble. Where are the boundaries? Whose definition of science is definitive? Which concept of religious is the authoritative one?

Ultimately, neither “science” nor “religion” can be pinned down to one single meaning or definition. Rather, they encompass a family of definitions that relate to one another in a complex web of shifting ways. Drawing on extensive research with over a hundred leading thinkers in the UK — including Martin Rees, Brian Cox, Susan Greenfield, A.C. Grayling, Ray Tallis, Linda Woodhead, Steve Bruce, Adam Rutherford, Robin Dunbar, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, and Iain McGilchrist — The Landscapes of Science and Religion takes the much-needed step of asking what science and religion actually are, before turning to the familiar question of how they relate to one another.

Building on this, by paying particular attention to those who sense some form of conflict here, Spencer and Waite explore where the perceived conflict really lies. What exactly are people disagreeing about when they disagree about science and religion, and what, if anything, can we do to improve that disagreement and bring about a fruitful dialogue between these two important human endeavours.

Nicholas Spencer is Senior Fellow at Theos, a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion and a Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of a number of books including Darwin and God, The Evolution of the West and Atheists. He has presented a BBC Radio 4 series on The Secret History of Science and Religion, and has written for the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, New Statesman, Prospect and more. He lives in London.

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter.

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