The tussle between science and religion is not new, this is an old fight that is still going on. Even after so many years of conflict on so many different levels, both fields still exist and are very popular among the masses. The debate becomes very intense when someone questions the existence of God because the concept of God is one of the basic elements of all organized religions. They all believe that their god or gods are the creator as well as the controller of this universe and there are some books that the god delivered through authorized agents to dictate his message (also known as holy books).
Now is this debate about science and religion any useful? Will it lead to any conclusion, if yes, what and when? Most of the discussions related to this topic often turn into arguments where both sides try to convince each other that the other party is wrong rather than understanding each other. This doesn't produce the desired result for both the parties involved in the discussion. For me, the question about science or religion is a simple question of personal need. Many people still need religion in their lives, they are very much dependent on it, they feel their existence depends on it, and they are scared of questioning their own religion. If someone else does it, it makes them angry and worried, they become either defensive or offensive while defending their own religion. Rarely do people manage to stay neutral on this subject. No one should object to anyone following any religion as long as they keep it a private affair. Religion is a deeply personal thing, just like your underwear or your genitals, there is no need to publicly share such information. At the same time, many people don't need religion anymore, they all have moved on, and this is their personal thing. People who don't find religion of any use question it and challenge it whenever they witness it in the public domain. That's why I mentioned religion being a private affair, as long as it remains private I don't think anyone would be bothered by it. Sometimes while arguing against religion people become too aggressive which complicates the situation, it is better to show some patience while questioning these age-old personal beliefs. People who challenge or question religion are increasing day by day because of this the argument is also getting more intense. In the past, it was easy to silence the challengers but nowadays they also have fundamental wights, and this has changed everything.
So what is the major difference between science and religion? It's the attitude to evaluate things before accepting or rejecting them, this attitude is different for these two fields. Let's consider one hypothetical scenario, consider two groups of people (or societies) totally disconnected from each other but simultaneously existing (like life on two different planets). Imagine one following only science and another only religion (doesn't matter which religion, one can assume whatever religion they like). Now imagine that both of them discover something like fire for the first time. Initially, both groups will be amazed by the beauty of fire, at the same time astonished and scared by the destructive power associated with it. The religious group will consider it as a creation of their creator because some knowledgeable person said that everything is created by that creator. They may start worshiping it and consider it a divine creature. They may preserve the original source of fire as a divine fine from which everyone borrows the light to light their own fire. If someone from somewhere came with a lamp to this community, they may feel threatened by the existence of another source of fire that has not originated from their divine source. They may blame this lamp carrier as a blasphemous guy who is challenging their creator by creating the thing that they believe only their creator has the power to create. However, a few people may get attracted to the new flame and start following that new lamp guy. Now, another group that is following a different fire source as a divine source is born. Both groups hate each other because each thinks that the other group is totally insane and the rest is the history of organized religion which we all know.
Another group also goes through the same emotions in the beginning after discovering the fire (surprise, amazement, fear, etc.), but they were curious about how this fire was formed, and how can it be reproduced to be used for their own good. The fire was not sacred to them, they studied its properties and discovered that everyone could make their own fire. This opened up many more avenues for them where they could use this fire for their own good in many ways. They made many instruments and machines that could use the power of fire. Here also a new person with knowledge of different energy sources like microwave radiations arrived from somewhere. This source worked better than the fire, everyone was happy to see the new invention, and they all welcomed the new idea, some even thought of collaborating with that person to see if two ideas could be combined to form something better. Some challenged both these things and proposed something new, their viewpoint was also given due consideration. Experiments were performed to check the validity of each claim. This resulted in the formation of many more new branches which attracted many people to discover many new things. But none of this created any rift, hatred, or fight but rather increased debates, and discussions. This is a very simplified example that I chose to illustrate two different approaches, one purely religious approach, and one purely scientific approach.
So according to me both groups react differently to similar incidents and that's the major difference between these two areas. Religion demands obedience whereas science demands systematic study. Their attitude towards looking at things is totally different. Now it's up to an individual to decide which approach (or combinations of approach) they prefer. I personally choose science because for me it sounds very logical and rational, whereas religion has become too rigid and dictatorial, everyone is free to choose what they like.
Another group also goes through the same emotions in the beginning after discovering the fire (surprise, amazement, fear, etc.), but they were curious about how this fire was formed, and how can it be reproduced to be used for their own good. The fire was not sacred to them, they studied its properties and discovered that everyone could make their own fire. This opened up many more avenues for them where they could use this fire for their own good in many ways. They made many instruments and machines that could use the power of fire. Here also a new person with knowledge of different energy sources like microwave radiations arrived from somewhere. This source worked better than the fire, everyone was happy to see the new invention, and they all welcomed the new idea, some even thought of collaborating with that person to see if two ideas could be combined to form something better. Some challenged both these things and proposed something new, their viewpoint was also given due consideration. Experiments were performed to check the validity of each claim. This resulted in the formation of many more new branches which attracted many people to discover many new things. But none of this created any rift, hatred, or fight but rather increased debates, and discussions. This is a very simplified example that I chose to illustrate two different approaches, one purely religious approach, and one purely scientific approach.
So according to me both groups react differently to similar incidents and that's the major difference between these two areas. Religion demands obedience whereas science demands systematic study. Their attitude towards looking at things is totally different. Now it's up to an individual to decide which approach (or combinations of approach) they prefer. I personally choose science because for me it sounds very logical and rational, whereas religion has become too rigid and dictatorial, everyone is free to choose what they like.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
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