A little dramatic, I know, but this is how I have felt before. I am an active participant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is known as a strongly Christian and conservative church. Yet, I am deeply involved in the sciences, which are notorious for rejecting the teachings of religion. How do I do it? How do the thousands of religious scientists do it? I can't speak for all of us, but I can tell you how I feel.
I think Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. explained this phenomenon best. He said, "Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge that is power; religion gives man wisdom that is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complimentary." With this view of science and religion, evolution is no longer in opposition to the creation story found in Genesis, but it sheds light on to why the words in Genesis were written. If science's goal is to give us knowledge, and religion's goal is to give us wisdom, the creation story in Genesis was not written to tell us how the world was created and inhabited, it was written to tell us why. If you read the Genesis account in this light you learn that God created this earth and its inhabitants with a purpose in mind. It was done with order. We learn that God cares. Suddenly there is not conflict. Suddenly there is peace. In 1 Corinthians, Paul teaches that "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (14:33). Brigham Young (one of the early leaders of my church) said, "I...believe positively that there is nothing known except by the revelation of the Lord whether in theology, science, or art." If God is not the author of confusion, yet he inspires scientific progress (such as Nicola Tesla's revelation) that must mean that science cannot contradict religion.
This is the beautiful realization that I have come to understand. The mistake is not in believing the teachings of science over the teachings of religion or vice versa, the mistake lies in thinking that the two are comparable. This has helped me have faith in Jesus Christ as my savior and redeemer while still accepting evolution, astrophysics, and many other things as true, factual principles.
I hope you feel enlightened after reading this and feel excited about the future advances that religion and science have to offer. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. I am always willing to explain my views in more detail to those who are willing to listen.
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." -Carl Sagan.