Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind

“Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds” – Robert Oppenheimer, on observing the effect of the nuclear explosion, quoted the Bhagavad Gita.

It in some ways captures the deep relationship between religion and science. The cult hit movie ‘The Terminator’ portrays a dystopian future where a super-intelligent Artificial Intelligence system has taken control of the world. Similar themes define The Matrix. Some of these movies perhaps attempt to explore the endgame of unbridled and blind scientific advance.

The relationship between science and religion has often been fraught with tensions, and many view the two as completely separate and even conflicting. However, as the essay will demonstrate, the two have much to gain from each other. The essay will examine the historical relations between the two, proceed to demonstrate the impact of both across various fields, and finally demonstrate how the two gain much more than they would lose; for religion would lose its relevance and science would become unguided.

UNDERSTANDING RELIGION

Religion can be defined as a set of ideas or beliefs which can be said to be conducive to a person’s spiritual well-being. In this broad sense, religion is not merely limited to established religions – but covers a wide set of beliefs – and can even include atheism in its ambit. Atheists can have a spiritual code of conduct too- Not harming/stealing from others can be because of a firm belief in the value of human life and because of a belief that stealing is wrong because it is unethical. It is in this sense that religion is being expounded as a way to better give direction to science.

RELIGION AND SCIENCE: THE STORY SO FAR

In ancient times, religion and science were intrinsically and organically interlinked. Our ancient sages were not only at the forefront of our major philosophies but our technological progress as well. Thus, the concept of atoms or parmanu, astrology, medicine, botany went hand-in-hand with philosophical and metaphysical development like soul, matter, God. The harmony between the two led to rapid progress of society – as each foot guided the other. However, with the passage of time, the religious doctrine increasingly started getting dogmatic and rigid.

With the advent of the medieval time period, the institution of religion started to stagnate. Thus, belief in universal, inscrutable truths, resistance to new ideas, etc., which marked this period – made religion fossilized. The suppression of free thinking by nearly all major religions in the world eventually led to the stagnation of society. The belief that all knowledge had been discovered and the superiority of religion led to a dark age. Examples of the time include the censure of scientists like Galileo and Copernicus by the church.

Eventually, with the age of enlightenment and era of scientific discovery, science was freed of its shackles imposing restraints upon its progress. Because of better persecution of scientific beliefs in the previous period by religion – led to a dichotomy between the two. Science, thus, remained divorced from spirituality. Although it led to an era of unprecedented progress, industrialization, and prosperity – important gaps remain – gaps which science alone could scarcely fill; thus, while we live amidst huge surpluses – we still are not necessarily happier than our contemporaries in the Vijayanagara Empire.

While Darwin’s work demonstrated that evolution occurred through natural processes – without the necessity of a creator, it still could not deny that we would be better off without a moral and spiritual code in our lives.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION – A JOURNEY ACROSS VARIOUS DIMENSIONS

A common thread of thought running across all theoretical physicists’ work seeking to understand the mysteries of the universe is a deep undercurrent of spirituality. How did the universe come into existence? They ask while our present-day knowledge of science can work out some fundamental laws of nature, yet no physics experiment can work out the laws which should govern human beings.

Socially, religion and morality and ethics play an important role in social control. While religion may at times prove to be an impediment towards scientific progress – science would essentially be worse off without it. Taking away an important facet of an individual’s personality makes him lose balance. At the societal level, it leads to major upheaval – hardly conducive conditions for scientific progress.

Ernest Hemingway once remarked “all thinking men are atheists.” The quote is often misunderstood as being against spiritual thought. While it may be against the being, it is not against thinking being tempered with morality. Philosophers all over the world have debated over the existence of a creator; debates have all of this does great disservice to the real issue at hand -> do we need some moral guidance in pursuit of scientific thought? To answer that question, the universe really does not need a creator – the question itself becomes irrelevant. This brings us to the revolutionary technologies which brings us in light of which it becomes even more important to understand this.

Today, biotechnology has the capability to design super-humans. Want better muscles – you got it, want a better metabolism – switch up the gene, better intelligence, better strength, memory – you name it, and it is there. While science may enable it to happen – should it? Who would decide where the limits lie? Who should benefit from such technology? All these questions go well beyond the realms of science and into ethics and morality. Not navigating these realms would lead to a new type of inequality – biological – where some humans are physically/biologically more advanced than the rest.

Artificial Intelligence promises to revolutionize our lives. It would introduce groundbreaking solutions and insights – but what about its regulation? Who decides what rules should govern these algorithms? The favored trolley problem today is not merely hypothetical – who should a self-driving car hit in case of an unavoidable situation? To say there can be one rational and accepted solution is doing a disservice to both scientific thought and ethical philosophy.

Nuclear weapons present another example. While Einstein could demonstrate that E=mc2 – can any principle of physics determine – how, when, and in what manner should nuclear weapons be used? To answer that, we would have to delve beyond the realm of ‘rational scientific thinking’.

Our political systems, even today, are unduly consumed with religion. While political parties may today use data mining and social media – they continue to do so to influence the religiosity of their voters. However, religion is continuing to cede more and more space in actual policy implementation – with stagnation, religion has become stationary. For example – what does religion have to say regarding Artificial Intelligence? This brings us to our final element – how harmony between them helps both in building a better society.

A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL DEAL

Religion was once at the forefront of societal change. It defined questions of policy and law. Take, for instance, Thomas Aquinas’ pioneering work on natural law. Today religion is reactive towards social and technological developments around it. Rather than deciding the changes, its response is merely reactionary – eg. It rallies against Biotech because of the potential – both societally and philosophically (man cannot play god). Borrowing from the scientific principle, a more rational system would help religion regain its popularity. By shedding socially damaging practices and rituals, it can transform itself for the 21st century. It can be molded into a better guide (not reactionary) to practical everyday ethics and morality.

Science, on the other hand, has a plethora of technological advancements waiting for it. By collaborating with religion, it will understand the societal, human, and metaphysical aspect of all these discoveries. While artificial intelligence may help us design systems that we cannot comprehend, we can comprehend human nature. While science gives us the ability to do a lot, religion can help us navigate the question – should we do it? A practical understanding of religion helps us better analyze the situation.

Thus, science without religion would essentially be lame, and religion without science would be blind. Harmony between the two helps both parties and helps societies move towards a better future. Thus, religion, instead of limiting its role to opposing scientific advancements, can incorporate scientific thought within itself, and together, the two can guide us towards a better world.