ABSTRACT
Some scientists are extremely interested in the speculative questions that arise out of their disciplines–sometimes more in the philosophical questions, and sometimes more in the religious issues. Some are openly hostile to the speculations; they consider it highly regrettable that anyone would start with physics or biology and end up with religious conclusions. In two kinds of cases, however, scientists will generally join forces. The first is when the science is misrepresented, or when discussants claim that something is 'scientifically proven' when in fact no such consensus exists. The second guideline turns on the distinction between 'going beyond science' and 'contradicting science.' Both among scientists and in the public at large, fundamental physics is often seen as holding the key to a scientific understanding of the entire natural world. In the science-religion debate, the precision of physics cuts both ways. Quantum physics, or quantum mechanics, is the study of physical systems at scales smaller than the atom.
