Leading scientists challenge the view that nothing should be believed unless proven scientifically in a video series next week.

The Christian Education Movement, which is marketing the videos, says that 28 per cent of young people take this standpoint. The videos aim to "show that science demands imagination and that religious beliefs can be rational".

Russell Stannard of the Open University, a well-known writer of scientific books for children, is producing the videos.

Scientists interviewed include the zoologist Richard Dawkins who argues that religion is a like a computer virus that keeps replicating itself.

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Astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell also features, arguing that while scientific and religious thinking encompass different kinds of knowledge, both are important.

The first video, Beginning at the Beginning explores how the universe came into existence. CEM says that it looks at both what the Bible says about creation and contrasts this with scientists' views on the Big Bang.

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The second, The Origins of Life, asks how human beings came into existence. The contrast between Genesis and Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is highlighted. Miracles are the subject of the third, which looks at the scientists' view that behind many miracles operate the laws of nature. This is contrasted with theology that accepts these laws but argues that "God's laws" still play a defining role.

The final video, Science Rule Supreme?, asks whether science is the only sure route to knowledge.