SCIENCE & RELIGION …………… OR SCIENCE VS RELIGION?

Science confines itself to the empirical, while religion delves into the supernatural.Are these two realms compatible, or are they irreconcilable?

It happened long ago, when we were students of Master’s degree course. It was a free period for us and we were having a whale of a time. Suddenly,in walked our senior professor with theusual scowl on his face. The professor had a serious demeanour;we were afraid, but also in awe of him. He told us gravely ’Since you are apparently having a free time, why don’t each of you note down your thoughts in a page or two and hand it over to me?”

The Professor had put all of us in a fix as we were at a loss on what topic should we write, that too at such a short notice.I,chose the topicScience and Religion for mybrief essay.

The professor walked in later in the day to return our papers. To my surprise, he read out my essayloudly to the whole class and alsoappreciated my efforts.Ever since that time,the thoughts on science and religion lay embedded in my mind.

Religion and Science—Historical PerspectiveHistorically, many scientific and technical advancements were achieved within societies organized by religious traditions. Examples abound, from the Greeks' theories on the Universe, to India's contributions to mathematics, and Egypt's developments in geometry. These innovations often addressed practical challenges faced by society.

Until the scientific revolution, the study of nature was termed "natural philosophy." This changed in the 16th and 17th centuries with the emergence of the Scientific Revolution, which transformed disciplines such as astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry. The mechanistic model that replaced the Greek worldview dominated scientific thought until Einstein's era.

 Renaissance and Reformation and the Emergence of ScienceRenaissance and Reformation periods influenced scientific thought, fostering abstract reasoning, a shift towards quantitative views of nature, and the development of the scientific method. By the 19th century, science had emerged as an autonomous discipline with established subfields.

Religion’s Role in Human ExperienceReligion, as an organized system of beliefs and practices, has been integral to human history since its origin. The concept of religion evolved amidst colonization and globalization, particularly during the Protestant Reformation.

Religion & Science---- how they both matter to us‘Scienceand religion’ as a field of study emerged in the 19th century, coinciding with the development of modern science and the Protestant Reformation. Throughout history, the relationship between science and religion has been a subject of debate. It has intrigued scholars and thinkers for centuries, and its complexity continues to challenge contemporary perspectives.

Both science and religion rely on core beliefs and assumptionsto operate and offer explanations for the complexities of our world. While science relies on empirical evidence to corroborate, religion relies on faith. Both can provide comfort and meaning to individuals in different ways.

It may,however, be remembered that religions have bothpositive and negative sides.It is not the case that all believers are reformed by religion. Through their dogmatism,fanaticsoften causebloody rivalries between communities, many a time leading to wars. Most major religious organizations are rich and powerful and have large organizations to assist. Their overt indulgence in power politics andlack of commitment to religious ideals of love and peace often alienate the religiousestablishmentsfrom the masses.

Science Vs Religion  Historically, religious beliefs have many a time hindered scientific inquiry. Two of themost prominent instances being the inquisition of Galileo, for supporting the helio-centric model of the solar system proposed by Copernicus, the famous Italianscientist and astronomer,in 1633,andthe defence of the Theory of Evolution propounded by Chares Darwin, by Thomas Huxley, English biologist, in 1860. 

How they view ScienceHow do scientists and non-scientists view science, which has an all- powerful presence in our daily lives?  Many scientists, philosophers, and theologians throughout history, like  Thomas Aquinas, have seen compatibility or interdependence between religion and science. Othersare of view that there is no conflict between science and religion, and that they can be complementary.However, scientific facts  can be influenced by religious beliefs.In the United States, some people reject the concept of evolution by natural selection, especially regarding human beings.

Sir Isaac Newton, René Descartes, and other scientists believed "that the physical laws he had uncovered revealed the mechanical perfection of the workings of the universe to be akin to a watch, wherein the watchmaker is God”

Max Plank, the father of quantum physics, put it succinctly"Religion uses its symbols; science its computations. Both systems are devoted to the pursuit of understanding, each in its own way. Though they may appear divergent, they ultimately converge in the search for truth."

 Einstein when asked about his views on religion was said to have replied ‘I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals himself in the harmony of all that exist”.

Karl Popper one of the most influential philosophers of science of the 20th century stated thatscientific theories are characterized by possessing potential falsifiers. Non-scientific theories, by contrast, do not have any such potential falsifiers.

Biologist Stephen Jay Gould described religion and science as "non-overlapping magisteria", for, they deal with fundamentally different domains.

Richard DawkinsEvolutionary Biologist, is well known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design,, as well as for being a vocal atheist. Dawkins wrote The Blind Watchmaker in 1986, arguing against the watchmaker analogy by Newton and others. Instead, he describes evolutionary processes as analogous toa blind watchmaker.  Dawkins has also criticized Gould's position on non-overlapping magisteriaon the grounds that religion is not divorced from scientific matters or the material world.

Francis Collins, a devout evangelical Christian and a prominent geneticist who headed the Human Genome Projectbelieves that ‘since evolutionary theory cannot explain human moral dispositions, we need God”.He has, however, been a strong critic of Intelligent Design.

How doPoet’s view science?John Keats, the celebrated Romantic poet, had engaged in a fascinating discourse about Newton’s experiments on colours. Keats agreed with Charles Lamb that Newton "had destroyed all the poetry of the rainbow, by reducing it to the prismatic colours".In his poem Sonnet to ScienceEdgarAllen Poe notes “Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art!/Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes”.

Walt Whitmanwrote in a poem “When I heard the learn’d astronomer---- /How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick------/Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars”.

Again, to quote Einstein, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Mahatma Gandhi identified “Science without humanity” as one of the seven blunders committed by mankind.

 

With the revolutionary changes brought about by Science and Technology in our life, most people are reconciled to the idea of separation of the two domains of religion and science, although some sceptics are yet to be convinced. The USA's National Academy of Sciences is of view that  “Science and religion are based on different aspects of human experience-----Attempts to put science and religion against each other create controversy, where none needs to exist”.

Most people now accept that science takes care of our physical needs; it helps satisfy our intellectual curiosity and pursue individual spiritualty through order and harmony in nature.

Their attitude seems to be that “Leave unto science the things that are Science’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”.

Political Ideologies&ReligionHow does science impact political ideologies?Karl Marx, the famous German philosopher called religion “the opium of the masses”. Marx viewed religion as a form of ideology that serves the interests of the ruling class.  Religion provides a false consolation and a distraction from the real problems of class society. Marx argued that religion should be abolished along with the class system.

Marx and Engels,however,were “acutely attuned to the science of their times and integrated this awareness at the core of their thought process” in developing the Marxist ideology.The Soviet Union was an atheist state.

Established in 1949,the People's Republic of China, maintained a hostile attitude toward religion. However, in the late 1970s, with the end of the Cultural Revolution, these restrictions were relaxed to some extent.

It would appear thatMarxism/Communism,with science at the core of their ideology,became a substitute for religion in all states that adopted the ideology!

With advancements in science and the spread of leftist ideology, thepopulation of believers and church-goers declined drastically in all countries.I recall the empty Cathedrals and churches when I had visited Rome long ago.

Ofcourse, many states have adopted state religions; in many countriesreligious sentiments of people are exploitedfor their selfish gains by political parties. Science is the biggest casualty in such cases.

It is pertinent to mention that knowing well the power of religion over people, Mahatma Gandhievoked religion to energize the masses during India’s freedom struggle, preaching for harmony and peace among the different communities.

Intelligent DesignProponents of Intelligent Design (ID) claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection”.Intelligent Design,lacks empirical support and is considered pseudo-science by many scientists. It remains a contentious topic within the science-religion discourse.

The God & ManEvery day,early in the morning, I spend some time in our terrace garden, in contemplation.In winter,especially,the garden is full of flowers of all vibrant hues and the green leaves of all shades glisten in hazy sun light.A host of birds sit in a line on the rail waiting for their turn to sip water from a mud pot.Butterflies, honeybees, beetles and wasps buzz around. Lizards playfully slither down the plants.I, then ask myself-what is the force behind this beauty and harmony?

I am reminded of an old poem which I studied in school----"Each little flower that opens/Each little bird that sings/He made their glowing colours/He made their tiny wings”. “He’ is none other than God, the watch-maker Newton spoke about.Saint Paul says that God “arranged all things by measure, number and weight".

It was Erwin Schrodinger, the famous Quantum Physicist, who spoke about “Order from order, order from disorder” while speaking about biological systems.  "Order from order" encompasses the idea that living organisms not only maintain their internal order, but also have the capacity to generate new forms of order through processes such as reproduction and evolution. The concept of "order from disorder" refers to the idea that living organisms are able to maintain a high degree of internal order and organization, despite the tendency of the universe toward higher entropy or disorder’.

According to Hindu philosophy, matter is created, preserved and destroyed on a continuous basis in the universe. To make this idea intelligible to the common people, they were assigned the status of deities to them -Brahma, Vishnu &Siva.

What I believe

From the time I had been a student, up to now, science has made tremendous progress. We are witnessing astonishing discoveries, especially in fields like quantum computing, gene-editing, brain studies, neural behaviour and Cosmology.

Having been a dedicated student of science all through my life, it is difficult for me to imagine a creator who is busy with creation, and, who at the same time, presides over our destiny. The idea of Intelligent Design also is difficult for me to accept, without any empirical evidence. A more acceptable idea appears to be that of Darwin---accidental beginning of life when all conditions became favourable, and evolution of organisms by natural selection and adaptation. That explains the riddle why all organisms have basically the same design. There are numerous examples in science to empirically support evolution by natural selection.

Culture & Religion Cultural influences often shape individuals' attitudes towards religion, even among non-believers. The cultural impact of religion can endure, despite personal beliefs. Only a few days back a hard- boiled atheist like Richard Dawkins proclaimed to the world that he is a cultural Christian- his life being influenced by Christianity from early childhood onwards, despite his being an atheist.I recall what M.T Vasudevan Nair,the well-known writer from Kerala said, when asked about his belief in God,”I don’t believe in God. But I have faith in my local Goddess”.  That is because cultural influences emotionally bind people together under a common purpose. Some scholars believe that with further advancements, science may be able to attract a sizable number of people into its fold, as it happened in the western world,but worldreligions will continue to attract others, at least for a long time to come.

Rational vs IrrationalCan science explain everything in the universe rationally? Isobjectivity alone the yardstick for interpreting reality?Can rationality alone help us to navigate the world?

According to the quantum theory in physics, developed in the early part of last century, matter behaves in a weird fashion at sub-atomic levels--its behaviour seems indeterminate and unpredictable thatcannot be explained by the well-established laws of Physics.Still further, the act of observing sub-atomic behaviour influences such behaviour, thereby challenging the Newtonian sense of objectivity or non-participatory observation in scientific method. No wonderdiscovery of the Quantum phenomenon shook the very foundations of science at that time.

Neuro-science is another field in which the mysteries of the brain are slowly, but steadily getting unravelled.We have notyet been able to fully comprehend the mysteries of consciousness.How could a group of neurons control our intelligence,emotions and behaviour?

Reason Vs IntuitionToday we know that intuition plays an important part in scientific discovery, as much as reason. In the making of Newton’s Theory of Universal Gravitation, Einsteins Theory of Relativity or Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, intuition (the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning oran impression based on logical deduction or experience),insight and imagination have played an important role, as much as reason. Einstein famously said: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant”.A poem by Emily Dickinson beautifully explains what reason alone cannot explain everythingfor us.

“Not present on the Year/ At any other period –/ When March is scarcely here/ A Colour stands abroad/On Solitary Fields/ That Science cannot overtake/But Human Nature feels”.

This leads us to the profound question--- should science be based only on rationality?Ought subjectivity too be a part of the scientific method, crafted over centuries of efforts by scientists,based on objectivityalone?

A New Kind of Science?

Stephen Wolfram's concept of 'A New Kind of Science' proposes that simple computational rules may underlie complex natural phenomena, challenging conventional notions of objectivity and determinism. This challenge finds resonance in quantum physics, which further complicates our understanding of the universe.Concepts like chaos theory, complexity science, and systems theory delve into the intricacies of natural phenomena and can provide frameworks for understanding the universe's complexity.

In the realm of alternative medicine, practitioners advocate expanding the scientific method to encompass factors like quality and subjectivity. The complexity of herbal medicines and their varied effects on different body types pose challenges to traditional empirical methodologies used in allopathic systems. This complexity makes it difficult to estimate efficacy through conventional means, leading to a call for a more holistic approach.

However, the suggestion of introducing subjectivity into scientific inquiry raises concerns among some scientists. They fear it could compromise foundational principles such as empirical evidence, reproducibility, and falsifiability, potentially leading to ambiguity and reduced rigor.

Yet, recognizing the limitations of a purely objective approach is crucial, particularly in understanding phenomena influenced by individual variability and holistic factors. Integrating both objective and subjective elements into scientific inquiry could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of nature.This inclusive approach holds promise for advancing knowledge while still upholding the core principles of scientific inquiry.

While they operate on empirical evidence and logical reasoning rather than faith, they often address similar existential questions and provide a sense of wonder and awe about the universe. So, in that sense, they could offer an alternative perspective or even fulfil similar psychological and existential needs for some individuals.Top of Form