This is not strictly about religions vs science, I have moved on from that for the time being, growing weary of all the non productive arguments on the intertubes.
Since I hope to study Microbiology once I am back from my gap year, I find the logic behind biology and evolution (at least on the layman level) very simple and logical to understand. If someone asked me why I think these things are facs, I could explain them, and how they make sense in the world we are living in.
But I was just thinking about how we take things like History for granted. All I was thinking was "How can you say my beliefs are wrong, but you believe in -- insert arbitrary historical fact here -- , how do you know that those books and records aren't lies that you believe in because they are continuously repeated from everyone ?
I had trouble to find any good counter argument other than:
"Well, I could check the facts, and then I would know that I am right!" <-(edit: Awful reply!)
and
"You have nothing to support your claims, so we are equally stupid!"
(edit:) or perhaps
"Well my beliefs do not have flying unicorns in them !!"
I guess my question is, how would you reply to the question? And do you think we use to much Ad Populum when it comes to layman science, or are you OK with that?
:-)