Science, Religion, Space and the Big Bang
Hi there, if you're aged between 11 and 18, this space is for you to explore your big questions about science and religious faith.
Use the menu on the left to choose your age range, then click on a question below to read some thoughts about God, creation, planets, aliens and the origins of the Universe. You can also click on ‘Scientists’ to meet some scientists of faith who study this topic!
If you are younger than 11 you can explore these same questions on our kids website, here.
-
What is the Big Bang?
-
Did God create everything or was it the Big Bang?
-
Are there any other planets like Earth?
-
Can Christians believe in aliens?
-
Scientists
-
More Questions?
-
What is the Big Bang?
The Big Bang is the name that scientists have given to the start of the universe.
Scientists used to think that the universe had always existed. Many thought that it was infinitely large and old, with no beginning point. This was called the steady state model or theory. But some scientists and mathematicians, including many who believed in God, started to notice clues that suggested that the universe was expanding and cooling and had been for a long time. From this they concluded that the universe had therefore been smaller and hotter in the past.
Taking this further, some scientists worked out that, at first, all the matter and energy in the universe was squished into a single very tiny, very dense, very hot point, before the universe started to expand very quickly, marking the beginning of both space and time! This idea about the beginning of the universe earned the nickname the ‘Big Bang’ by those who criticised it, and the name stuck!
One clue that helped with the development of the Big Bang theory was ‘red shift’ data, which showed that galaxies and other matter in the Universe appear to be moving away from us, and from each other – suggesting that the universe is expanding The discovery of the ‘Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation’ also helped support this new idea, as scientists interpreted this radiation as the leftover heat from the Big Bang, and it is not explainable in a steady state model. Over time, lots of other discoveries have added confidence to the idea that the universe had a beginning point about 13.8 billion years ago.Since the Big Bang, all the stars, planets and everything else in the universe have gradually been made out of the matter and energy that was there at the start of the universe, in that hot, dense point.
We’ll be adding more big questions on this topic, so keep checking this page!
-
Did God create everything or was it the Big Bang?
We’ll be adding more big questions on this topic, so keep checking this page! (Spoiler: lots of people think it was both!) -
Are there any other planets like Earth?
We’ll be adding more big questions on this topic, so keep checking this page!
-
Can Christians believe in aliens?
We’ll be adding more big questions on this topic, so keep checking this page!
-
More Questions?
Do you have questions which aren't covered here? We want to help!Take a look at some of our other topics, activities and resources to see what else you can discover.
Or why not get in touch and we'll do our best to help you out!
