As Jon said, we’re getting off topic - however I think we’re demonstrating in microcosm what the problem is, at least in part.
The very fact that the OP was phrased “Science is screwing up the battle for America’s minds” demonstrates that such a battle appears to exist. It’s a self-perpetuating problem - there are two sides, each disagreeing with each other. This very situation causes people to pick sides - or have sides picked for them by parents, peers, teachers, whatever.
Once someone is on one side of any argument, they’ll often not be prepared to accept anything from the other side. Any claims or points made by one side are just dismissed by the majority of individuals on the other. This is not helped by the fact that often the most dedicated “believers” are the most outspoken, talking their less ardent compatriots round to their point of view.
In this sort of situation, if one group raises a point that the other would probably not be too bothered about, it too is contended simply because, well, everything those guys say is rubbish, isn’t it? Because each side has little contact with the other, neither side know much about the other - often what they “know” has been told to them by people on their side of the debate.
In this case, then, we have scientists who consider all religious types to be credulous fools, and religious people who think all scientists are arrogant idiots who think they know everything. There are people who won’t just shut up and listen - the same old arguments crop up every time.
Of course, this doesn’t cover everyone - that’s the point. Some people do manage to sit on the fence, or have sympathetic tendencies to the opposition. Most people on this board, for instance, are nowhere near as inflexible as I’m suggesting a lot of people are.
As Blake pointed out, science can prove itself right using scientific methods, and religion can show itself to be correct using faith-based arguments. The two aren’t compatible - you can’t measure one with the other, and show which is ultimately “right”. If this can be understood by people, and explained to children, we can prevent the “battle” from existing. The incompatibility means that debating the point is largely valueless. Scientific evidence can’t be used to counter religious belief - they’re based on different axioms. It can show contrary information, sure, but it doesn’t prove the religion wrong. So prevent fundamentalists from questioning all that is taught in school science classes, and convince members of the scientific community that all are welcome to their own beliefs, and we can allow both the scientific potential, and the religious strength, of the country (or world) to grow.
Together we’re stronger, etc.
