Throughout history, there are many accounts of the clash between science and religion. Throughout his career, William Buckland attempted to reconcile these issues--to show how science and theology complimented, rather than contradicted, each other.

Buckland was born in Axminster in Devonshire, England, in 1784. His father, Charles Buckland, was the rector of Templeton and Trusham, and young William would ultimately choose to follow his father into the clergy. Even at a young age, though, Buckland showed an interest in the wonders of nature; in particular, he was fascinated with the tiny fossils he found in the stones near his hometown. In 1798 he enrolled in St. Mary's College, Winchester; three years later he was awarded a scholarship to study geology at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and it was there that he obtained his B.A., in 1805, becoming a fellow in 1808.

While a student, Buckland traveled all over the English countryside...