Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England during World War II. His family moved there from London to escape the relentless bombing of that city, but quickly returned after Stephen was born. He grew up and attended high school in St. Albans, England.
Hawking is a scientist, perhaps the world’s most famous and often-quoted scientist. As such, he has dredged up the old science vs. religion argument on more than one occasion. He clearly feels that religion is inferior to science in terms of finding answers to question of the natural world. He once said: