December 4th, last day at my first international science conference.
I am waiting for my uncle to pick me up from the university, when I overhear an interesting conversation between a student from the university and a guest.
The student says "My family is a family of pundits (Hindu scholars of religious scripture). We've been pundits for the last ten generations, and I'm the first to break the tradition and venture into science. My father's never impressed with my work. He just says "His (God's) power still holds, where science reaches it's limits." I don't think he'll ever appreciate what I do."
Similarly, my uncle asked me about stem cells at the dinner table that night and after listening to me talk for the next 10 minutes, he laughed it off ,saying "Great! But I'm not impressed until they can make a soul."
My neighbour's daughter, 12 years old, asks me "Our theology teacher at school says that science is a bad thing. And learning science is wrong. Do you think so?"
My reply, of course, was that her dear teacher is wrong. And if she is right, she should immediately stop using anything that is the product of science. Which, I know for a fact, isn't possible.
So, are science and religion compatible?
The answer is not simple.
So, what's the issue?
Religion has long been portrayed as the enemy of science and reason, supposedly due to lack of evidence of a higher power, and the failure of religion to solve mankind's problems.
This idea of incompatibility between science and religion, I believe, arose in the West prominently due to famous incidents such as the case of Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake for being a heretic. His fault? To conjecture that the stars are like our sun, each having their own planets, and that the universe is infinite.
Galileo Galilei is famous for being labeled a heretic by the church for advocating the heliocentric model of the solar system, rather than the Aristotelian geocentric model.
The Muslim world, once flourishing in the sciences, went downhill after the Islamic scholar Al-Ghazali, who claimed that falsafa (which literally meant philosophy, but included logic, mathematics and physics) are fundamentally incompatible with Islam. The Islamic world hasn't recovered from that downfall, ever since.
This scares the scientists, who believe that religious indoctrination necessarily implies the loss of one's scientific inquisitiveness. Which is not necessarily so.
The situation is very similar to the West being so afraid of Islamic terrorism, they began to abuse and insinuate Muslims who are looked at with suspicion for no fault of their own.
The theophobia associated with scientific thought these days, is disturbing.
To me, my religious beliefs are a very, very personal thing. And I do not bring them up unless I need to. It is the same with science. I do not try to mix the two aspects of my life. My spiritual life is my own, and I believe no one has the right to question my belief in anything, Just as I do not question theirs.
As I've mentioned earlier, I believe we are all a collection of belief systems, and so, I believe I cannot and should not force my opinions on those who might have a different worldview.
My suggestion?
Atheists condemning and ostracising religious people as non-scientific based solely on their religious beliefs is ridiculous. Of all the people, I believe scientists should be the ones to have an open mind, and be more tolerant towards different belief systems, regardless of whether they appeal to you or not.
Nevertheless, I also believe that religious leaders from all major religions should embrace science, just as they have embraced it's various offerings. And I encourage religious people to learn science, even if it is to know the mind of God.
I'll end with a quote from one of my favourite characters, Mr. Rzykruski from the film Frankenweenie. This quote beautifully explains the reason behind the rejection of science by various religious fundamentalists.
I am waiting for my uncle to pick me up from the university, when I overhear an interesting conversation between a student from the university and a guest.
The student says "My family is a family of pundits (Hindu scholars of religious scripture). We've been pundits for the last ten generations, and I'm the first to break the tradition and venture into science. My father's never impressed with my work. He just says "His (God's) power still holds, where science reaches it's limits." I don't think he'll ever appreciate what I do."
Similarly, my uncle asked me about stem cells at the dinner table that night and after listening to me talk for the next 10 minutes, he laughed it off ,saying "Great! But I'm not impressed until they can make a soul."
My neighbour's daughter, 12 years old, asks me "Our theology teacher at school says that science is a bad thing. And learning science is wrong. Do you think so?"
My reply, of course, was that her dear teacher is wrong. And if she is right, she should immediately stop using anything that is the product of science. Which, I know for a fact, isn't possible.
So, are science and religion compatible?
The answer is not simple.
So, what's the issue?
Religion has long been portrayed as the enemy of science and reason, supposedly due to lack of evidence of a higher power, and the failure of religion to solve mankind's problems.
This idea of incompatibility between science and religion, I believe, arose in the West prominently due to famous incidents such as the case of Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake for being a heretic. His fault? To conjecture that the stars are like our sun, each having their own planets, and that the universe is infinite.
Galileo Galilei is famous for being labeled a heretic by the church for advocating the heliocentric model of the solar system, rather than the Aristotelian geocentric model.
The Muslim world, once flourishing in the sciences, went downhill after the Islamic scholar Al-Ghazali, who claimed that falsafa (which literally meant philosophy, but included logic, mathematics and physics) are fundamentally incompatible with Islam. The Islamic world hasn't recovered from that downfall, ever since.
This scares the scientists, who believe that religious indoctrination necessarily implies the loss of one's scientific inquisitiveness. Which is not necessarily so.
The situation is very similar to the West being so afraid of Islamic terrorism, they began to abuse and insinuate Muslims who are looked at with suspicion for no fault of their own.
The theophobia associated with scientific thought these days, is disturbing.
To me, my religious beliefs are a very, very personal thing. And I do not bring them up unless I need to. It is the same with science. I do not try to mix the two aspects of my life. My spiritual life is my own, and I believe no one has the right to question my belief in anything, Just as I do not question theirs.
As I've mentioned earlier, I believe we are all a collection of belief systems, and so, I believe I cannot and should not force my opinions on those who might have a different worldview.
My suggestion?
Atheists condemning and ostracising religious people as non-scientific based solely on their religious beliefs is ridiculous. Of all the people, I believe scientists should be the ones to have an open mind, and be more tolerant towards different belief systems, regardless of whether they appeal to you or not.
Nevertheless, I also believe that religious leaders from all major religions should embrace science, just as they have embraced it's various offerings. And I encourage religious people to learn science, even if it is to know the mind of God.
I'll end with a quote from one of my favourite characters, Mr. Rzykruski from the film Frankenweenie. This quote beautifully explains the reason behind the rejection of science by various religious fundamentalists.
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| Pretty neat, right? |
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