Does the Church believe in the Big Bang Theory? If not why?

The Church neither confirms nor denies the Big Bang theory because it is not inherently contradictory to its teachings on creation.

The most important thing to remember about the Church’s teaching on creation is simple: God created everything. However it got there, God created it. So if the Big Bang actually did happen, then what is most important for the Church is that God is the one who created that incredibly dense point of space and matter and he is the one who made that singularity rapidly expand. God is the one who created the universe and set it in order. There is room to believe in this theory and in the creation story in the Bible.

It’s also important to know the history of the Big Bang theory. The one who proposed it was Georges Lemaître, a mathematician, astronomer, and physicist who taught at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). Oh, wait, did I mention he was a Catholic priest? That’s right, the Big Bang theory, which certain atheists today try to use against Christianity, was proposed by a Catholic priest! Sometimes the Big Bang theory is even known as the “Lemaître theory.” He also observed the expansion of the universe before Edwin Hubble did, and made a significant impact on the theories of Einstein as well.

What’s most ironic is that when Lemaître first proposed his theory, many scientists rejected it! They thought his theory, which proposed that the universe as we know it came from a single point and event, was too “Christian!” Even Pope Pius XII was a fan of the Big Bang theory.

Nevertheless, the Big Bang is only a theory and is not a proven fact. You do not have to agree with it or believe in it. The Church’s position is neutral on it. Just remember: whether you agree or disagree with the Big Bang theory, it can only explain how the universe became the way it is (meaning what happened). It cannot tell us why the universe exists or how all the “stuff” of the universe got there.