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Abby Weitkamp

Mathew Garcia

Pre-AP English

16 February 2017

Science vs. Religion

At what point do we differentiate science and religion? This was the question I found

myself debating in sixth grade. When I was in the sixth grade, one of the units in science was all

about space. This intergalactic system full of planets, stars, and moons soon became a driving

force behind changes to what I believe in. The irony of it was that a place with no gravity

grounded me. It was in Ms. Zaytouns very classroom that I made one of the biggest decisions in

a persons life. A decision that will forever affect how I am viewed. The decision to believe in

science instead of Christianity.

As a young girl, I grew up around people who believed that God is real. That there was

one man. A single man. Just one man that created night and day, the Earth and the heavens, the

sun and the moon, and everything else that encompasses a person. My family went to church

every Sunday. My sister and I attended weekly youth group sessions outside of the holy Sunday

morning. I was even baptized at that church. The rest of my extended family, especially on my

Moms side, were firm believers in all things holy. When I was a child, all of the religious events

were simply intriguing and exciting ways to have fun. I did not understand the meaning of all of

my activities. Until our move to North Carolina in 2007 when I was just shy of 6 years old and

about to graduate kindergarten, nothing was put into perspective.

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When my family first made the move to the Tar Heel State, we did not have a church that

we regularly attended, nor did we have any local family to help us get settled. I was no longer

immersed in everything that is God. During our first trip back to Missouri, my

great-grandmother was very sick. She had malignant melanoma which is the most aggressive and

life-threatening type of melanoma. The last time I saw her, she gave me a handmade quilted

blanket before going to bed. On December 12, 2007, my parents were driving us away from a

birthday party of a family friend at Chuck-E-Cheese when they were told of the dreadful news. I

was sitting in the very back of the van, nudged up against the side in order to feel all the heat

from the vans heating system. Grandma Giltner had died in her sleep. My sisters Libby and

Reilly were too young to understand. At the ripe age of 6, I understood enough to ask

Why?

Why did Grandma Giltner die?

Why was she alive for everyones birthday except mine?

Why did God take her from me?

As these questions flashed through my mind as if on a never-ending carousel, I wept

silently to myself.

While these thoughts plagued my heart and soul, I eventually began to believe that

Grandma Giltner died for a reason. She did not die simply because God was being mean

because, as I was constantly told, God had better things in store for her. However, my questions

that were answered with false reassurances persisted as I grew older. Soon I questioned

everything bad that happened in my life and why God would allow it to happen. It was not until

the third quarter of sixth grade that I was introduced to the idea of science instead religion.
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My sixth grade science classroom was extremely organized. There were six rows of black

tables with two textbooks stacked in the center of each. Resting behind each table lay two chairs

with tennis ball covered legs in order to prevent all of the grating squeaks, moans, and groans

made as the chairs moved across the floor when ushered by students. Upon entering the

classroom for the first time, I was immediately enthralled by all of the colors coming from the

posters placed on every available space. Each tan cabinet was covered in a bright poster that was

either inspirational or related to one of the units that would be covered throughout the year. One

unit that must be covered in the sixth grade science curriculum is all about outer space.

Now, while this might contradict some of your beliefs, I am in no way telling you what

to believe. Ms. Zaytoun had said on the first day of the unit. I am only teaching what you need

to know and will not focus on religion of any sort.

These words caught my attention and soon I was magnetized by the idea that there were

other beliefs out there that did not revolve around God. After all, according to science, the Earth

was not created by God. It was created by a collision within the solar nebula.

For me, it meant that there was no longer one being that was in control of my entire life. I

like to be in control of my thoughts, attitudes, and actions. This control gave me freedom.

However, it was not until later on, circa the eighth grade, that I truly began to express my beliefs.

My beliefs, or lack thereof, were not always received in a positive manner. One afternoon, I was

returning to the eighth grade track one commons area with a group of peers that I did not

consider close friends. There was an offhand comment made about another student that did not

believe in God that compelled me to say something. Anything.

I dont believe in God. I had simply stated as if I was speaking of the dreary weather.
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Their reactions were astonishing. They simply could not wrap their precious, angelic

heads around the fact that not everyone believed in God.

Did you just say that you dont believe in God? one peer had asked me as if I had just

told her that the delicious Red Baron pizzas served for lunch every Tuesday would no longer be

available.

Yes. I had said.

But...why? yet another peer had asked.

I just do not believe that one being controls my life and everything around me. I make

my own decisions and God does not guide my thoughts.

They all exchanged wary, restrained glances as if not sure what else to say to me.

Thankfully, the bell was about to ring so the awkward tension that currently lay over our heads

would soon be buried underneath the trivial, everyday problems in the life of an eighth grader.

As we all dispersed to our classes, I felt a sense of relief.

This relief was accompanied by the realization that while not everyone will agree with

me, letting people know that I do not believe in God is not a bad thing. People should not judge

me over what I believe in if I do not judge them. Not believing in God or a higher power is

nothing to be ashamed of and this is something I will live by for the rest of my life.