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The Lights of the Church and the Light of Science by Thomas Henry Huxley is a critical essay that explores the relationship and conflict between religious authority and scientific reasoning. In this essay, Huxley contrasts the "lights" of the Church—representing religious tradition, dogma, and theological teachings—with the "light" of science, which stands for empirical evidence, experimentation, and rational thought.Huxley critiques the Church’s resistance to scientific progress, particularly in the realms of biology, geology, and astronomy, which were challenging long-held religious explanations of the natural world. He argues that the Church's reliance on faith and its reluctance to embrace scientific discoveries hampers intellectual progress and limits human understanding of the universe. Huxley advocates for the primacy of science as the most reliable and effective means of discovering truth and solving humanity’s problems.