Science does not inherently deal with morality. Thus it can't truly be compared to religion. Honestly, the religious should stay away from explaining the natural world, but they don't so we get some crazy stories.
>This is false. Religion punishes dissent and doubt. Science encourages it. The most reliable way to earn a scientific reputation, a Nobel Prize, is to cast doubt on a theory and produce evidence to back up the doubt. In religion, that can only get you expelled or killed.
This is the only point on which I disagree with you. If you study religion, you will see that they grow and adapt naturally. An example would be Vatican II. Did you know that the early Catholic church did not believe that Mary was "Assumed" into heaven? Now it's as good as a "religious" fact. That change came about non-violently from inside the church.
Power is something people try to find anywhere. The atom bomb was a tool to be used against populations, and so is religion. Many people are dissilusioned by religion because they see historic bad behavior and want to stop it. Hence, lets get rid of religion. This is not the case. "Evil" or acts that you and I would deem in breech of basic human rights come from other people and they will use any tool they can.
Yes, many Catholics believe papal decrees to be infallible, they are idiots. A church should never be considered above it's own laws.
They are two different models for belief and inquiry. I think that much can be learned in religion from the scientific model, and that science needs to stay pure (i.e. away from religion).
That doesn't mean that we can throw moral standards aside and begin human testing, but it does mean that the religious should try to stop scientific exploration for fear of a loss of "faith". If their faith is so weak that it is centered around how the universe works, then they have a problem. I.E. Kill Galileo cuz he's going to ruin our plans.
That was a power move by a corrupt church, not a religious move where "God" said to the pope, "That dude is going to make all sorts of trouble for the Catholic church, we better of him.. oh yeah that one commandment I taught you, I'll ignore it."
This corruption is peppered anywhere there is power, even in science. I know some grad students are asked to falsify data... I don't constitute this as proof. It's really just to show that the notion isn't out in left field. http://ctscanhollywood.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/workplace-bu...
Does that mean that science is bad? No, it's the person wielding that power.