In fact, there are several interdisciplinary centers specifically fostering this interaction. Among the most prominent are the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, founded in 1981 in Berkeley, Calif., and the Chicago Center for Religion and Science, which dates to the early 1950s. These institutions conduct research on the science-religion interface and organize public lectures and conferences. For some researchers, religion is actually a motivating factor in their career choice. Geiger, a member of the Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic order, teaches at the University of Dayton, where he works on photosynthesis and tends a 14-acre prairie he planted.
Religious feelings remain private for many scientists.
While some may keep their beliefs to themselves for fear of subtle discrimination, the view of chemist Paul Gaus seems more typical. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Center for Human Genome Research, also believes that science and religion play different roles in researchers' lives. They simply operate in different spheres of your life. Yet Michel Revel, a Jewish molecular biologist at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, sees more of an overlap. But since both are products of the human mind, there is no way you can say these two activities have no relation.