Why Science and religious faith are in conflict.

[Jehanne]

True, but a deeper inspection shows a lot of hypocrisy in this area.  A lot of scientists are "doing it" to please a spouse, usually, a wife, but often times a husband as well.  As for someone like Dr. Francis Collins, he was raised in a religious home, attended church, etc., but claimed that he became an atheist.  Probably true, but then he did a residency and watched a patient of his (probably, a little child) die and then he "snapped" and "got religion".  And, now, he is making a ton of money off it, plus pleasing his spouse, and, he gets to have a plush job in Washington as one of the Evangelical's "golden boys".  But, and this is just a hypothesis, maybe Francis feels that he deserves a Nobel and Jesus helps him cope with not having one.

Oh, these people are irrevocably religious. My former boss is one of the most published and respected in his field, and he went to seminary school before he got his doctorate. He's an evangelical Christian through and through. Scary as fuck. The kind whose wife doesn't wear pants or work.

Don't underestimate the sexual and/or control aspects of his relationship to and with his wife.  He may find her to be sexually attractive, the modest and feminine "skirts only" even more so!  (It's a turn-on for some men, believe me; and, what better way to keep one's wife in dresses and/or skirts all day than getting her to believe that it is "God's will".)  And, then, there's the control aspect; after all, not many women want to be stay-at-home moms these days, barefoot, pregnant and in a peasant skirt all day!  One need only look at the huge, huge decline in the number of women religious before and after the Second Vatican Council.  A century ago it was quite common for a young lady to take a vow of celibacy and work at the local Catholic school and/or hospital for menial wages, at best.  Today, very, very few women want that for themselves!  Ditto for the skirt-wearing, submissive Evangelical woman of today's World.

And, your boss/professor may have some hidden skeletons in his closet.  Individuals who have experienced huge personal losses often cannot (understandably) cope with it all, and embracing the religion of one's birth and/or family helps everyone cope.  Doesn't change the fact, of course, that none of it is true, but it does make people feel better; that is a scientific fact!