THEOLOGICAL ROOTS OF EUROPEAN SCIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

Abstract

The article explores the problem of interaction between Christian thought and the formation of scientific knowledge in the European cultural context. It analyses the ontological, gnoseological and axiological foundations of the Christian worldview, which established the necessary prerequisites for the emergence of science in the Modern Age. Based on historical examples of the activities of Nicolaus Copernicus, Johann Kepler, and Galileo Galilei, it is demonstrated that deep religious consciousness not only did not contradict scientific research, but on the contrary, stimulated it. The author emphasises that the confrontation between the Church and science is a historical myth, and that the emergence of a scientific worldview was made possible precisely in the context of Christian monotheism, which demythologised the cosmos and legitimised experimental and mathematical natural science. Particular attention is paid to the theological foundations of science, in particular the significance of the dogma of the Incarnation and Christian ontology in the formation of the modern scientific worldview. The practical significance of the study lies in helping to overcome stereotypes about the antagonism between religion and science and in using its results in teaching historical, philosophical, and theological disciplines.