--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science is not infallible, but it has…" description: "\"Science is not infallible, but it has something religion lacks: a process of testing claims against real-world observations.\" — PZ Myers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg" --- # Science is not infallible, but it has something religion… ![“Science is not infallible, but it has something religion lacks: a process of testing claims against real-world observations.” quote by PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg) > “Science is not infallible, but it has something religion lacks: a process of testing claims against real-world observations.” [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science offers a systematic method for testing ideas, a feature religion lacks. **In simple terms:** Science tests claims; religion does not. Key Takeaway Value empirical testing. Themes science religion methodology Mood thoughtful neutral Type philosophical dialogue When to use this quote - academic research - public policy debates - education curricula Key Concepts empiricism faith knowledge validation Questions to Reflect On - How do science and religion complement each other? - Can faith inform scientific inquiry? A Different Perspective Religion can provide moral guidance absent in science. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible/) [Infallible Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infallible-religion-5954511/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Lacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-lacks-5954510/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Infallible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-infallible-4637195/) [Testing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testing/) [Testing Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testing-claims-5324811/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The logic of science was infallible, and if the scientists were sometimes mistaken, this was assumed to be only from their mistaking its rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/the-logic-of-science-was-infallible-and-if-the-scientists-were/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“The process of testing claims is called science. Now, If you have a claim that can't be tested thats what we call pseudo-science. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/the-process-of-testing-claims-is-called-science-now-if-you-have-a/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [Corruption, the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty, was successfully practised; honours, gifts, and immunities were offered and accepted as the price of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/corruption-the-most-infallible-symptom-of-constitutional-liberty-was/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [SAUCE, n. The one infallible sign of civilization and enlightenment. A people with no sauces has one thousand vices; a people with one sauce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/sauce-n-the-one-infallible-sign-of-civilization-and-enlightenment-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [When two men of science disagree, they do not invoke the secular arm; they wait for further evidence to decide the issue, because, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/when-two-men-of-science-disagree-they-do-not-invoke-the-secular-arm/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [An infallible Remedy for the Tooth-ach, viz Wash the Root of an aching Tooth, in Elder Vinegar, and let it dry half an hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/an-infallible-remedy-for-the-tooth-ach-viz-wash-the-root-of-an-aching/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The only infallible truth of our lives is that everything we love in life will be taken from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-infallible-truth-of-our-lives-is-that-everything-we-love-in/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [The impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-impious-presumption-of-legislators-and-rulers-civil-as-well-as/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Some claim a place in the list of patriots, by an acrimonious and unremitting opposition to the court. This mark is by no means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/some-claim-a-place-in-the-list-of-patriots-by-an-acrimonious-and/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Reversal by a higher court is not proof that justice is thereby better done. There is no doubt that if there were a super-Supreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-jackson/reversal-by-a-higher-court-is-not-proof-that-justice-is-thereby/) [Robert H. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-jackson/) > [We turn to Marx, therefore, not because he is infallible, but because he is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/we-turn-to-marx-therefore-not-because-he-is-infallible-but-because-he/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [I think thing that makes Batman so endlessly interesting is that he's one of the most flawed and deeply human characters, even though he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-snyder/i-think-thing-that-makes-batman-so-endlessly-interesting-is-that-he-s/) [Scott Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-snyder/) > [Hinduism... gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/hinduism-gave-itself-no-name-because-it-set-itself-no-sectarian/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) ## More by PZ Myers > [Religion is an act of sedition against reason. Whatever religion is most seductive and likely to draw in victims to surrender their skepticism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/religion-is-an-act-of-sedition-against-reason-whatever-religion-is/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Science provides tangible evidence of its accuracy and importance. Religion makes excuses for its absence of the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-provides-tangible-evidence-of-its-accuracy-and-importance/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Human beings are still fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/human-beings-are-still-fish/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Very clever people are often very clever at creating rationalisations for insane beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/very-clever-people-are-often-very-clever-at-creating-rationalisations/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [“That's the difference between a godly person and an atheist. Our stories are shorter and don't assume the protagonist is an idiot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/that-s-the-difference-between-a-godly-person-and-an-atheist-our/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Many of the religious apologists out there are not stupid people, they are often brilliant. People working in the field of theology and philosophy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/many-of-the-religious-apologists-out-there-are-not-stupid-people-they/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [Silence is an argument in favor of the status quo. A refusal to address an inequity is a strategy for maintaining that inequity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/silence-is-an-argument-in-favor-of-the-status-quo-a-refusal-to/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [religion is to misogyny as disease is to misery - not the sole cause, but a significant contributor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/religion-is-to-misogyny-as-disease-is-to-misery-not-the-sole-cause/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [And of course death can't be conquered...but oh, the battle can be glorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/and-of-course-death-can-t-be-conquered-but-oh-the-battle-can-be/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [We shouldn't be gratuitously obnoxious, we should be purposefully obnoxious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/we-shouldn-t-be-gratuitously-obnoxious-we-should-be-purposefully/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [It's amazing how much detail Catholics will go into documenting why people shouldn't do the things that they all do anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/it-s-amazing-how-much-detail-catholics-will-go-into-documenting-why/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [We live our lives for our life's sake, rather than for illusions about rewards and satisfaction after we're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/we-live-our-lives-for-our-life-s-sake-rather-than-for-illusions-about/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [FAITH. No one word personifies the absolute worst and most wicked properties of religion better than that. Faith is mind-rot. It’s the poison that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/faith-no-one-word-personifies-the-absolute-worst-and-most-wicked/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [If you've got a religious belief that withers in the face of observations of the natural world, you ought to rethink your beliefs -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/if-you-ve-got-a-religious-belief-that-withers-in-the-face-of/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [The mediocrity principle simply states that you aren't special. The universe does not revolve around you; this planet isn't privileged in any unique way;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/the-mediocrity-principle-simply-states-that-you-aren-t-special-the/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) [Explore all 24 PZ Myers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) ## More Claims quotes > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [Those who do not know what love is likens it to beauty Those who claim to know what love is likens it to ugliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/those-who-do-not-know-what-love-is-likens-it-to-beauty-those-who/) [Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/) > [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? 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Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/) [Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/) [Browse all 2,762 Claims quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science is not infallible, but it has something religion lacks: a process of testing claims against real-world observations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "PZ Myers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-something-religion-lacks-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Claims" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-something-religion-lacks-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/pz-myers-24674_claims_science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-som_2390793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Science is not infallible, but it has something religion lacks: a process of testing claims against…” — PZ Myers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "PZ Myers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Science is not infallible, but it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-something-religion-lacks-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-is-not-infallible-but-it-has-something-religion-lacks-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```