Worldview theory in science education has generally proceeded from an assumption that there exist distinguishable entities called "science" and "indigenous knowledge" in all times and every place in the world. This assumption has been the philosophical ground point of typologies that describe the relationship between science and religious thought. This article explores the complexity and diversity in student views on relationships between science and traditional religious thought: how the meaning of "science" is defined by the way social groups interpret and organize their views about knowledge. If the public image (definition) of science represents the interaction of western science and local culture, then the word "science" incorporates the results of the "translation, reformulation, and appropriation of western science". As Layton, Jenkins, Macgill, & Davey (1993: 4) have concluded, knowledge production and knowledge reception are influenced by context and inescapably imbued with historicity. The author describes how Indians, led by 19th and 20th century revivalist movements, appropriated western science from their colonizers. The author presents findings from interviews and discussions with Indian students to indicate a direct connection between Hindu revivalist ideas and the epistemological views of science students.