CFIC T.O. – Science & Philosophy Book Club – “Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible” by Jerry Coyne

Hosted by CFIC members Christine Gagnon and Vlad Bunea, this meeting takes place at our National Headquarters, 55 Eglinton Ave E., Suite 307, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Suggested donation is $5.

The goal is to provide a friendly, free-thinking environment in which to discuss books that inspire rewarding conversation on subjects related to science and philosophy.

We had Jerry in our Toronto office back in June and in an act of shameless self-promotion before his evening lecture at OISE, he graciously posed for a shot encouraging everyone to go out and buy his damn book Faith vs. FACT! And we have a number of signed copies available for sale in our office: $20 for CFIC members: $25 for non-members.

Jerry is no accomodationist. Oh, no. No NOMA for him. In his provocative new book, this evolutionary biologist lays out in clear, dispassionate detail why the toolkit of science, based on reason and empirical study, is reliable, while that of religion—including faith, dogma, and revelation—leads to incorrect, untestable, or conflicting conclusions.

Coyne is responding to a national climate in which over half of Americans don’t believe in evolution (and congressmen deny global warming), and warns that religious prejudices and strictures in politics, education, medicine, and social policy are on the rise. Extending the bestselling works of the Four Horsemen, he demolishes the claims of religion to provide verifiable “truth” by subjecting those claims to the same tests we use to establish truth in science.

Coyne irrefutably demonstrates the grave harm—to individuals and to our planet—in mistaking faith for fact in making the most important decisions about the world we live in.