Religious beliefs in creation

Many religions say that the Universe is God’s creation – but how do we know if it’s true?

Can science tell us the answer?

The claim that the Universe is God’s creation is not easy to test. It’s not something we can investigate scientifically – by doing experiments for example. We can’t do an experiment to show it was created and we also can’t do an experiment to show that it was not. It’s not a question that science can answer – which helps to explain why different people arrive at different conclusions.

Support for the claim that God created the Universe

Here are some examples of how people support a belief in a Creator God. As you will see, in each case, the evidence fits with the idea that God created the Universe, but this is not the only way to explain it.

The Argument from Design

You probably agree that our Universe is amazing. This is the evidence that we all see – a beautiful Universe. Some people see the beauty of nature as evidence that our Universe is God’s brainwave; Others say that this is how nature turned out and that we have learned to appreciate it.

The Cosmological Argument

Our Earth is sometimes called the ‘Goldilocks planet’. This is the place where everything is ‘just right’ for life. There’s water, warmth and everything that’s needed for life to start.
Some people see the development of life on Earth as evidence of God’s Creative work in progress. Others do not. They say that things could have turned out differently and in that case, we would not be here.

A passion for exploring

Some religious people see the existence of science itself as evidence for the idea that God exists. God created a universe which can be explored using science and He gave humans a passion for exploring, they say. Once again, this is far from the only way to explain why people are attracted to puzzles and mysteries.