What a story!
Yves Gingras’ book L’impossible dialogue. Sciences et religions is a masterful volume comprised of seven chapters of unequal length. Chapters 1 and 2 recount Galilée’s adventures, while the third chapter outlines the context in which other sciences emerged, further promoting the divide between science and religion. Chapter 4 reminds us the numerous instances where scientific publications were censored, the Church demonstrating an increasingly organized resistance towards science, this opposition manifesting itself in the Index and the Inquisition. Chapter 5 and 6 put the reader at the very heart of the question which initially inspired this volume: ‘‘How can we explain the strong resurgence, since the 1980s-1990s, of the issue regarding the relationship between science and religion and of the call ‘for ‘dialogue’’ between the two domains’’ (p. 9). Here, I wish to underscore three elements, two of which are adressed by Gingras, including the notion of miracles as well as the role played by the Fondation John Templeton, followed by a final point not examined by the author: the NOMA (Non-Overlapping Magisteria) principle. Lastly, in chapter 7, Gingras describes the rise of aboriginal spirituality and of the belief in traditional medicines, backed by their unrelenting advocates who would rather promote their spiritual and ideological convictions rather than advance scientific research.