The Higgs Boson’s conflict with Theology
Klynton Rhodes
Georgia Southern University

The Higgs Boson’s conflict with Theology
A scientific discovery is also a religious discovery. There is no conflict between science and religion. Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.
–Joseph H. Taylor Jr, God Evidence
According to Steve Paulson (2010) “The debate over science and religion is like catnip for anyone wanting to spout off about the improbability of God or the arrogance of scientists”(p.1). Since I was young I remember being told that no matter what I learned in science class about evolution, or the big bang, that God was real. According to Dr. Agustin Fuentes of Psychology today “There are some factions of Christianity whose leaders (and thus their followers) express adamant opposition to “evolution” and this is often used as the key example in the science vs. religion conflict.” Examples of controversial scientific discoveries such as cloning, and genetic manipulation, are considered to be inhumane. In my opinion God created science for humans to better understand the world he created, and according to Steve Paulson (2010) Albert Einstein shared my belief demonstrated when he stated “ Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind” (p.3).
It is well known that some people believe that the universe was started with the big bang as well as the subsequent reactions that followed. This brings into the discussion the Higgs Boson more commonly known as “The God Particle” The primary function of the Higgs according to Leon Lederman (1993) is “giving mass to massless particles” (p.367). The Higgs is being considered to many as a challenge to god existence due to the fact that according to Shosana Davis (2013) of CBS news “It's said to be what caused the "Big Bang" that created our universe many years ago.” Nicola Menzie (2012) of The Christian Post wrote “Without the Higgs Boson particle, scientists theorize, life as we know it would not exist.”
Still many respected clergy men have accepted the existence of the Higgs, but rightfully still disprove that it could substitute for God. In an interview with Vice Reverend Paul Turp answered “Something must have caused it, and whatever caused it, that’s what’s called The First Cause. And it’s what a lot of us would call God” (Haddow, Katerji, & Heisey, 2012), to the question of whether the discovery of the Higgs disproves the existence of God. Oliver Buchmueller a researcher at Cern stated himself that it is inappropriate to call the Higgs the god particle, this coming from fact that it has nothing to do with God. Below is a chart showing scientists religious affiliations compared to the rest of the United States population. If even highly credited scientists that are credited with discovering the Higgs know that while it was fundamental in creating the universe it does not in any way disprove god. So I ask you if the Higgs Boson created the universe, what created the Higgs Boson?

References

Davis, S. (2013, March 19). "God particle": Why the Higgs boson matters. Retrieved November
16, 2015, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/god-particle-why-the-higgs-boson-matters/

Ecklund, E. (2010). The Voice of Science. In Science vs. religion: What scientists really think. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Fuentes, A. (2015, May 27). Moving Beyond Science vs. Religion. Retrieved November 27, 2015, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/busting-myths-about-human-nature/201505/moving-beyond-science-vs-religion

Haddow, J., Katerji, O., & Heisey, M. (2012, July 5). The Spiritual World Reacts to the Higgs Boson Discovery | VICE | United States. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.vice.com/read/the-spiritual-worlds-reaction-to-higgs-boson-discovery

Lederman, L., & Teresi, D. (1993). The God Particle at Last. In The God particle: If the universe is the answer, what is the question? (p. 367). Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.

Menzie, N. (2012, July 7). Evidence of Higgs Boson 'God Particle' Disproves Religion or Supports Creation? Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.christianpost.com/news/evidence-of-higgs-boson-god-particle-disproves-religion-or-supports-creation-77752/

Paulson, S. (2010). Atoms and Eden: Conversations on religion and science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vardiman, L. (2012). Did the 'God Particle' Create Matter? Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.icr.org/article/did-god-particle-create-matter/