[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I think they're pitted against each other because people see that science and religion are methods of understanding the world we live in. Since they're both methods of gaining knowledge, that puts them on the same playing field, so common-sense then dictates one should challenge the other. Also, there probably are historical references, where religion kept saying one thing because science couldn't explain it but science then managed to explain it, so it was suggested that science booted religion out of that particular area. For example, in Christianity, Leviticus 13/14 describes how a priest should treat someone who is ill in the community by animal sacrifices. Later, science came along and discovered a medication or form of surgery that remedies the same illness in a more efficient manner. Thus, Christianity's way of treating illnesses got booted out by science.

That said, I agree religion and science are both sources of gaining knowledge of the world. BUT, I do not agree they are on the same playing field because their methods, paradigms and questions are always different. Christianity turns to hoping and praying that god will give some obscure sign that can eventually be used to treat the person, so there is no active research by the people. On the other hand, science turns to active research and questioning and re-questioning themselves, with the focus purely on humans and animals, not on god.

When radical scientists come along, such as Darwin's famous "Origin of Species" book detailing evolution, it sparked followers who used evolutionary biology to discredit concepts in the bible. I suppose some people want to eradicate religion and have science dominate but this inherently assumes all religions are pure evil, which I disagree with when you examine the non-dominant religions, such as branches of Theistic Satanism. A few churches I think are a bit loopy, such as Joy of Satan because in ways I cant understand they use Satanism to support neo-Nazism, however, the majority of branches and churches are not involved in that at all. They don't advocate for harm, battle, or destruction, instead they advocate being all that you can be or "self-actualization".

Thus, pitting science against religion isn't valid, its only use to me is showing how people fail to understand what science and religion actually are. Other than that, pitting them against each other is useless.