Despite the resolute refusal of most TV nature documentaries to credit God or creation, such shows can lead viewers towards faith, reports a science journal.
According to research in the ‘Emotion’ journal, watching scientific shows can “reaffirm belief in God” – contradicting the atheist assertion that the more people understand science the less they will believe in God.
In the study, people who were already religious reported a sense of awe when watching programmes about nature or science. It confirmed their belief that only a Creator could be responsible for life and the universe.
People with no faith said watching such shows made them less inclined to believe the world came about by chance and more appreciative of the order in the universe.
Ard Louis, an Oxford professor of theoretical physics, told Premier Radio that he wasn’t surprised by the conclusions: “The more you dig into science, the more beautiful it is. As a Christian I interpret that sense of awe as pointing me towards the God that is behind it all…My non-Christian scientific colleagues also have an incredible sense of wonder and awe when they look at the world. It points them to something bigger than themselves at the very least.”
Professor Louis explained, “The way that these programmes are presented is scientism. They present that science is the only way of achieving knowledge and that philosophy and theology aren’t really valid – and that’s a gloss that is put on them.”
He added: “In my own work, whatever you’re studying – from giant galaxies to the behaviour of tiny ants – there is always beauty and a sense of awe. The more you look at it the more beautiful it gets, rather than the other way around.”