Abstract

Galileo’s struggle with the Roman Catholic church over the arrangement of what we now call the “solar system” was a multifaceted event. It is well known, of course, that it was a clash of ideas – between scientific claims fervently held by a small band of scientific reformers on the one hand and opposing theological doctrines supported by centuries of church tradition on the other. Unfortunately, this version of the story has proved itself vulnerable to simplistic black-and-white elaborations. In the overheated rhetoric of the likes of Andrew Dickson White and many popular writers, this has become a tale of combat to the death between the voices of scientific freedom and the forces of theological intolerance – and, as a welcome bonus, an opportunity to bash the Catholic church. As such, it may make good drama, but it is seriously deficient as history.