Some believe science and religion are mutually exclusive realms, and never the twain shall meeet. Former Gov. Jim Martin presented evidence to the contrary last week in his Catawba College Forum lecture. Not only can science and religion exist together, but scientists themselves are stepping forward to expound on the fact.

Martin is a case in point. The only Republican to serve two terms as North Carolina governor, Martin is known to most people as a political leader. But as he demonstrated in Salisbury last week, he is just as devoted to science. He taught chemistry at Davidson College for 12 years and recently has written a book, “Revelation Through Science,” to be published this spring.

In a follow-up, the Post asked what prompted Martin to write about the topic. The answer goes all the way back to his own days as a student. Here’s his explanation:

“In graduate school, I was intrigued by the evidence that all carbohydrates in nature are right-handed (according to the convention by which organic chemists define their three-dimensional configuration), and all amino acids in natural proteins are exclusively left-handed (by that same notation). … There are non-superimposable mirror images for each, but the left-handed sugars and right-handed amino acids are somehow excluded in Nature’s formulations. That is scientific fact that is well understood as such, but which clearly indicates it could not occur by random chance. To the theist, it is consistent with purpose, a topic that is not generally accessible by scientific inquiry.

“That spirit of wonder must have festered over the years until five years ago I was asked to speak on the Conflict between Science and Religion. As I developed that talk, adding other writers’ views on the subject, I began to understand that there is a new movement of scientists who believe in God, and who no longer are content to consider science and religion as being non-overlapping domains of knowledge.  Among the leaders are British physicist John Polkinghorne, NIH Director Francis Collins and Harvard astronomer Owen Gingerich, among many others. … 

“Before long, I found many colleges, churches, and discussion groups eager to hear my message about a reconciliation between science and religion. Many seem to find comfort in a pro-science approach to religion (or is it the pro-religion approach to science?), while some skeptics seem to find a resolution of their doubt that had been generated by the conflict between creationists and atheists.

“That led me to wonder whether my material could be the basis for a book on the subject, to which I concluded that it should.  Many astronomers, physicists, and biologists have written on the compatibility between science and religion, but little contribution had been offered by chemists. That convinced me to write a book presenting the anthropic conclusions from those other fields, with what I hope could be climactic evidence from organic chemistry.”

Wow, Governor. And thanks.