Social Compass 1–19 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0037768616664473 scp.sagepub.com social compass Rejecting the conflict narrative: American Jewish and Muslim views on science and religion Brandon VAIDYANATHAN University of Notre Dame, Center for Ethics and Culture, USA David R JOHNSON University of Nevada Reno College of Education, USA Pamela J PRICKETT Rice University Department of Sociology, USA Elaine HOWARD ECKLUND Rice University Department of Sociology, USA Abstract Sociological research on the US population’s views of science and religion has recently burgeoned, but focuses primarily on Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals. Our study advances understandings of how Americans of non-Christian faiths – namely Judaism and Islam – perceive the relationship between science and religion. We draw on in-depth interviews (N=92) conducted in Orthodox Jewish, Reform Jewish, and Sunni Muslim congregations in two major cities to elucidate how respondents’ respective traditions help them frame the relationship between science and religion. Findings demonstrate that members of these religious communities distance themselves from the pervasive conflict narrative. They rely on religious texts and historical traditions to instead articulate relationships of compatibility and independence between science and religion, while developing strategies to negotiate conflict around delimited issues. Corresponding author: David R Johnson, University of Nevada Reno College of Education, 1664 N. Virginia St, Reno, NV89557, USA. Email: drj@unr.edu 664473SCP 0 0 10.1177/0037768616664473Social CompassVaidyanathan et al.: Rejecting the conlict narrative research-article 2016 Article at UNIV OF NEVADA RENO on September 27, 2016 scp.sagepub.com Downloaded from