There are certain things that upset religious folk.Many of us may welcome discussion about God and the nature of our faith, but our mood usually changes when the dialogue starts to turn patronizing. Suggestions that those who believe in God are not as smart as the rest of society causes the faithful to bristle.It was understandable, therefore, that there was a fair bit of concern over a recent speech given by our new Governor General, Julie Payette, to the Canadian Science Policy Conference. During her remarks, she lumped in those who believe in a divine explanation for our existence with climate-change deniers, horoscope followers and practitioners of quack medicine.Adopting the type of condescending tone that drives people of faith bananas, Payette began her diatribe with a "Can you believe...?" question. Among the many things she found shocking was that "we are still debating and still questioning whether life was a divine intervention or whether it was coming out of a natural process let alone, oh my goodness, a random process."The reaction was swift. Columnists and pundits were quick to accuse Payette of attacking religious Canadians. The prime minister counterpunched by applauding "the firmness" with which Payette stood "in support of science and truth."  Making the festivities complete, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer joined the fray, attacking Trudeau for not standing up for Canada's many faith communities.Is everyone making too much of this incident?Probably. A couple of throwaway sentences by Payette in a routine speech hardly represents a mortal sin and will undoubtedly soon be forgotten.But what I find fascinating about the entire ongoing debate is that a whole group of really smart people seemed to believe that it is impossible for faith and science to co-exist.Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is a long history of people of faith supporting science and understanding its value to humanity.For many, faith and science each answers a different set of questions.  While science focuses on the "how" questions, faith asks "why."  While science seeks to describe nature and its laws, religion is more about trying to understand "what it is all about" and "how I can make a difference."As the religious commentator, Glenn Byer, put it in the 2013 book Faith and Science Matters: "The purpose and workings of the universe are not dependent upon us knowing them.  They exist, and regardless of whether we are by faith discerning the meaning and purpose of the universe or by scientific inquiry unlocking what has been unknown in the structures of atoms or galaxies, we are all of us explorers."Do these two types of inquiries cross over?Of course, which is why we have not only seen scientists who are deeply religious but an interest by faith traditions in science. This has been particularly true of the Roman Catholic Church, once a dominant force in Payette's home province of Quebec.  As a former astronaut, she is undoubtedly aware of the Vatican Observatory that operates a major telescope in Mount Graham, Ariz., to note only one example of Catholic support for science.The Catholic Church has also embraced evolution.  Although acknowledging a divine role in creation, a series of popes, including John Paul II and Benedict XVI, have identified the theory as the best explanation of life's physical origins on Earth.Some will say that Payette's criticism was not directed at mainline believers but at extreme fundamentalists who hold strong creationist beliefs. People who reject evolution, believe that the earth is only a few thousand years old and enjoy going to "museums" that contain exhibits of Adam riding a dinosaur.Although a bit of a caricature, I acknowledge that some Canadians hold biblically literal creationist views. Several years ago, a member of the Ontario legislature publicly stated that due to his Christian beliefs he did not believe in evolution and questioned whether it should be taught in our schools.I admit it, I don't want this person to be Ontario's minister of education. But before we dismiss him entirely, is there anything behind what he is saying that should cause us to pause?  Has society become so fixated on the claim that science can explain every single aspect of our existence — and even allow us to control nature — that we have lost our wonder at the mystery of creation?In a society that is divided over so many issues — and whose citizens often seem incapable of listening to any perspective but their own — we need leaders who can figure out ways to break down barriers and unite us. My experience is that if you sincerely look, there is usually at least some room for common ground — even in a phoney war between religion and science.John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister currently serving as the Director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program.  John can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @John_Milloy.