One of the interesting questions he posed to Elon was "Can science and religion co-exist"? Probably not.
Which begs the question ... we've had a lot of question on this forum about people's background ... socio-economic background, profession, political leaning (even indirectly) ... wonder if it would be too provocative, not PC to ask what peoples religious outlook are? As in a poll?
As we are bucking the tide, it would not surprise me if there were a lot of so called "independent thinkers" lurking?
If you'll indulge me a bit... I've studied religion a certain amount. One of the hardest questions in religious studies is, "What is religion?" In other words, what's the definition of the field of study? !
Some propose a definitions of "religion" which is based on rituals, practices, and community, centered around shared rituals. In short, a definition which does not require belief of any sort, and does not require exclusivity. According to this definition, Monday Night Football *is* a religion. For real. And so is Star Trek. I've come to conclude that this is the *correct* definition of religion for the purpose of studying religion. The advantage of this inclusive definition is that all the more restrictive definitions exclude something which is generally considered a religion, or exclude something where the practicioners consider it a religion!
According to this definition, science can certainly co-exist with religion. Can science co-exist with *doctrine*, or with *belief despite evidence*? Probably not, due to the nature of science, which is all about getting accurate knowledge by questioning and testing everything. But does religion require doctrine or belief? I argue that it does not require either.
Thanks for listening. I've spent a while studying this and it's an interesting topic.