Members of the Church of England have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion that religion and science are compatible despite bruising assaults by atheist scientists such as Richard Dawkins.

Christians with scientific backgrounds – including two bishops with science degrees – told the General Synod in London that many Christians accepted scientific theories, including those of evolution and the age and origin of the universe.

Launching the debate, a computer scientist, Dr Peter Capon of Manchester diocese, said: "We wish to refute the perception that you have to choose between science and faith … the crude caricature of faith as being blind and irrational. We reject the 'scientism' that claims that, in principle, science can resolve all questions capable of being answered.

"Most scientists accept that philosophy, theology and the humanities are alive and well and give insights and understanding that complement but are not replaced by scientific understanding."

Many Christians have been stung by criticisms which attempt to associate them with American fundamentalists who have waged a high-profile campaign in the US in favour of Creationism, or so-called Intelligent Design theory.

Capon added: "I am not suggesting that we should take the Bible, the inspired word of God, with anything other than the utmost seriousness and reverence. But we make a category mistake if we try to read it as a modern scientific textbook. We should be very wary of staking everything on proving or disproving a particular scientific proof.

"Rejecting much mainstream science does nothing to support those Christians who are scientists in their vocation or strengthen the Christian voice in the scientific area. Christians have always taken their part in scientific endeavour and in unlocking the mysteries of the whole of God's creation."

An Oxford physicist, Dr Anna Thomas-Betts, told the synod: "Religion and science have always been integral in my life. I don't look in science books to find out how to live and I don't look in the Bible to find out about Higgs boson. What is faith but a series of hypotheses verifying the truth of what we believe?"

Dr Tom Butler, the bishop of Southwark, whose doctorate is in electronics, said: "Since the Enlightenment, science has been dramatically successful in extending human knowledge and understanding of the universe and has changed every aspect of human existence. Theology, the queen of the sciences of past ages, is now tolerated … as a private preference but in no way has the authority of the true sciences.

"It's significant that Richard Dawkins is a biologist and biology has been the most successful of the old sciences … but it's the discipline of physics which tries to delve into more fundamental levels … discovering that existence is more mysterious than we can imagine."

Quoting Wendy Freedman, author of The New Physics, the bishop added: "'The measurements point to a universe filled with a kind of matter which we've never seen, propelled by a force which we don't understand' – and they say that religion is all faith. If believing that isn't faith I don't know what is. I don't think we need be defensive about ours."

The synod voted by 241 votes to two that it believed in the compatibility of God and science.