Catholic interpretations about science in the late nineteenth century: between dispersion of voices and dogmatic formalization

Abstract

This article aims to outline some general ideas regarding the way in which different catholic agents understood “science” in the late nineteenth century. I intend to show, in the first place, the wide range of opinions that existed regarding this subject –even inside the Vatican. Secondly, I argue that catholic notions about science have to be analyzed paying attention to, both, the consolidation of the scientific field that was taking place in the period, and the conflicts waged with a number of anticlerical sectors. So, I hold that the catholic perspectives can’t be analyzed and judged from an ad hoc definition of “science”, because they were developed in a context in which the meaning itself of science was largely being disputated.