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RELIGION and SCIENCE Modern science had its origins in the late Middle Ages, especially during the period called the Renaissance. Many of its discoveries brought it into conflict with the traditional beliefs held by the medieval church. The assertion by Galileo and others that the Earth was not the center of the universe outraged many church leaders, and Galileo was brought to trial for teaching unacceptable doctrines. Conflicts between religion and science did not cease with the Renaissance. Today there are many religious people who condemn all teaching about the theory of evolution. They assert that the Biblical account of creation is literally true; therefore, evolution is unacceptable to them. Opposition between religion and science arose from the mistaken notion that religion could present its doctrines as undisputed knowledge that would hold true for all time. The medieval church had incorporated into its system of belief certain ancient scientific assertions about the Earth and the heavens. As these assertions were slowly proved false, the church reacted because it had used ancient science to support its doctrine. In other words, it had attempted to use assumed facts of science to support belief. It feared, consequently, that if the facts were swept away, the belief would crumble. As it happened, religious resistance to science alienated many educated people. The church did not realize that real belief cannot be supported by evidence from science. Nor can belief be undone by scientific evidence. The sciences deal with what they can see, inspect, and experiment with. They can make no valid statements about the existence or nonexistence of a god, for instance, because such statements must be made without any available evidence. On the other hand, religion cannot pretend to invalidate the findings of scientists for fear that belief will be challenged. If the objects of faith are true and the objects of scientific discovery true as well, then the objects are equally true and cannot contradict each other. The uneasiness between science and religion has not been limited to Christianity. Marxist communism of the 20th century has become a kind of religion. It has an all-embracing worldview, and it has a faith in the historical process for which no evidence exists. During Joseph Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union, scientific theories that seemed to contradict his version of Marxism were suppressed. Stalin's favorite scientist was Trofim Lysenko, a biologist and agronomist who supported theories on heredity completely at variance with the genetic principles developed by Gregor Mendel. Through Lysenko's influence and under Stalin's insistence, all other approaches to biology were outlawed. Some scientists who had previously taught Mendelian genetics were forced to change their opinion and teach Lysenko's version of biology.