In Faith Versus Fact, Coyne successfully makes the case that science and religion are incompatible. The book is well researched well written. He supports his statements with thirteen pages of notes, fifteen pages of references, and the book contains a table of an index so you can easily revisit your favorite subjects. Like books I’ve read by Dawkins, Sagan, and Hitchens; this is another book I wish I would’ve had access to as a younger person, especially during my religion / science accommodation phase. I’m going to read this again with a highlighter as there is so much good information in this book which I need to remember.

IMO, this is an especially important book for our times as religiosity is creeping in to politics, our public schools, and many other aspects of society where it does not belong. Science and reason are needed more than ever to tackle the problems facing humanity, thoughts and prayers to supernatural entities are just not cutting it. There have been past presidents (GW Bush) and there are currently US politicians in charge of policy making who are creationists / born-again / evangelists who allow their religion to influence their decisions about national policy. Despite the fact that religion as never added anything to our understanding of the natural world and it's the 21st century (for crying out loud!), these decision makers continue to advocate for supernatural myths and misinformation such as intelligent design to be taught in science classes in public schools. Polls have shown that the United States has the lowest acceptance of evolution amongst industrial countries. This is shocking. As Coyne states, “Bit by bit, the list of phenomena that once demanded an explanatory God is being whittled down to nothing. Religion’s response has been to either reject the science (the tactic of fundamentalists) or bend their theology to accommodate it.” Pretty soon the God of the gaps will have no gap to reside in.

The book is divided in to five chapters. In the first chapter, Coyne outlines the problem with with the argument that science and religion can be compatible. In the second chapter, he explains the incompatibility through conflicts of method, outcome, and philosophy. He explains why accommodation fails in the third chapter and takes on the supernatural. This is probably the highlight of the book for me. He finishes the chapter with three test cases of how science disproves religion: Adam & Eve, Mormonism, and Theistic Evolution. Regarding Adam and Eve: modern genetics and DNA disprove the existence of our homo sapiens being created in a sudden act, and without Adam and Eve there is no original sin, and therefore no reason for a savior to die for forgiveness of such. The topic of the fourth chapter is faith striking back against science as its foundations continue to be eroded by scientific discoveries. Finally, the fifth chapter asks the question “why does it matter if science and religion are incompatible?”. Reasons listed include the suppression of scientific research (i.e. stem cells) and vaccinations, opposition to assisted dying, and climate change denialism. Coyne narrows his focus on Christian Science and Jehovah’s Witnesses and includes some specific examples of people were harmed and even killed by adhering to treatment methods approved by religion to treat serious medical conditions rather than seeking professional help through doctors and hospitals.

I found the book to be fascinating and reinforced my belief that science and religion are have no business being friends. I’ll end this with my favorite Ingersoll quote, also featured in the book:
“There is no harmony between religion and science. When science was a child, religion sought to strangle it in the cradle. Now that science has attained its youth, and superstition is in its dotage, the trembling, palsied wreck says to the athlete: “Let us be friends.” It reminds me of the bargain the cock wished to make with the horse: “Let us agree not to step on each other’s feet.”