The Shroud of Turin and the nature of faith

What ought to be the relationship between evidence and belief?

Miniature representing the Shroud of Turin, from the Prayer Book donated in 1559 by Cristoforo Duc of Moncalieri to Margaret of Valois, Turin, Royal Library. Image by Andrea Nicolotti.

Almost a year ago I was invited by Andrea Nicolotti, a professor of History of Christianity and Churches at the University of Turin, in northern Italy, to teach a special course on the relationship between science and religion or, more broadly, reason and faith. It was a lot of fun, and Andrea and I have become fast friends, so much so that I’m very much looking forward to returning to Turin this summer for another course, on the philosophy of pseudoscience.

The two things, religion and pseudoscience, are not unrelated, and it turns out that Andrea is a world expert on the famous Shroud of Turin, the alleged burial cloth of Jesus. I highly recommend his definitive treatment of the topic, The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World’s Most Famous Relic. (Here is a recent articleby Andrea, summarizing the history and controversy surrounding the Shroud.)

The story of the Shroud is interesting and pertinent to discussions of both pseudoscience and the relationship between reason and faith because it is arguably the most famous relic of the Christian faith, which many people, including many religious authorities, consider authentic and indeed one more proof — together with other miracles and testimonies — of…