The relationship between science and religion is so complex that we cannot support any single proposition. At the beginning of the birth of modern science, a kind of belief that is close to the religious spirit was accompanied by the development of science. Many scientists have embarked on the road of scientific research under the encouragement of seeking the concept of God’s natural law. The relationship between science and religion is very complex religion provides scientists with the power of belief and research, and faith needs rationality to serve trust. Once science goes beyond the scope allowed by religious doctrines, it will be punished by faith. People have different views on the two and their relationship, including the well-known theory of the conflict between science and religion, the idea of harmony between science and religion supported by some people, and the view that the two are irrelevant. In my opinion, science, and religion can exist together in many ways and their existence is inseparable based on the concepts of these two words. (Brooke, 1991)
Some scientists believe that scientific knowledge can meet the deepest spiritual needs of human beings, so they continue to use science to explain religious feelings. However, priests always protest arbitrarily and often express arbitrary opinions on the role of nature. People use religious symbols to give meaning to life and take care of their spiritual home; with the help of scientific models to control the surrounding things and improve their living environment, these two forces penetrate each other so that we cannot completely abandon either side. From this point of view, science and religion are entangled in the web of conflict and harmony — there is harmony in battle, and there is conflict in peace. There is not such a relationship between them, and the conflict side is obvious, but the harmonious side is often ignored or not recognized. Engels once pointed out that social needs are the fundamental driving force of technological development. However, to some extent, the driving force of scientific development comes from social needs. The difference is that the development of technology comes from material needs, and the development of science comes from the spiritual level. As long as we pay attention to it, it is not difficult to find that the harmony presented in the conflict comes from this. (The relationship between science and religion)
Harmony: Religion provides scientists with the power of belief and research
The original motive force of science is often related to religious belief, which is verified by the worship of sacred belief objects or by the doubt and denial of religious belief. Religion provides people with an explanation of nature, which is often speculative at the beginning, but in the process of verification, it needs scientific and technological means to prove whether it is reasonable. Generally speaking, the basic spirit of religion is not to absolutize irrationality and oppose science with faith but to serve irrationality with reason and enslave science with confidence. European Renaissance reexamined not only ancient Greek philosophy but also interested in ancient mysticism, alchemy, astrology, and natural magic, which had an important impact on the development of modern natural science. To prove the wisdom and greatness of God, quite many scientists regard the observation of nature as a form of worshipping God and an exploration of God. Today, we find that it is easy and necessary to separate science from mystical interests, but at that time, many people were not able to do so. The works of Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler, (Issac and Johannes), like those of Paracelsus, Robert Vlad, and John Dee show a real interest in transmutation and the exploration of cosmic harmony. The religious complex has an important influence and role on scientists. Many famous scientists not only believe in religion but also are monks themselves. Their loyalty to religion makes them actively study the creation of God — natural things. Here, religious belief has been transformed into its profound internal motivation, which drives them to engage in scientific research tirelessly.
Conflict: the break between science and religion
Religion promotes science unconsciously, or science is the by-product and rebellious son in the process of spiritual development. The opposition and struggle between religion and science are the most representative of the Western Christian era in the late Middle Ages. The story of Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden of Eden for eating the fruit of wisdom and committing the original sin of humanity in the Bible is the symbol of the cognitive reason that religion rejects human beings. (Bible, 2020) In the early and middle ages of the Western Middle Ages, the development of natural science did not bring trouble to the church. At this time, science, like philosophy, was just the servant girl of theology. As long as science does not fundamentally oppose theology and does not pose a threat to religious belief, religion can tolerate the existence of science. Once the scientific development goes beyond the scope allowed by religious doctrines, it will be opposed and punished by faith. In the late Middle Ages, the development of science threatened religion itself, so the persecution of science by religion reached a peak. The church not only burned books that were considered heresy but also destroyed many precious books that had been accumulated from generation to generation. Bruno, a scientist, believed in Copernicus’ heliocentric theory. Therefore, the universe must be infinite, breaking Ptolemy’s geocentric theory and Aristotle’s idea of the universe, the celestial sphere, and even the sun’s center. His radical ideas shocked even Kepler, a famous scientist. Because he publicized his new cosmology and opposed scholasticism, he was regarded as an extremely destructive heresy by the church and was burned by the Roman Church in 1600. (McMullin, 1987)
Over the past few hundred years, science has been developing rapidly, and faith has never stopped at a certain point. The interaction between the two is still emerging. There is science in religion, but it has been labelled as religion; there is also religion in science, and it has been branded with science. The church insists on the rigid doctrine that the universe is immutable, while those natural philosophers who believe in God believe that the universe is in constant change. Both eternity and change originate from God. Science and religion do not conflict and exclude each other at all times. However, if a scientist is not driven by some strong belief, he can never make a breakthrough in his scientific creation and scientists also create a harmonious relationship between science and religion.
References
- Isaac Newton & Johannes Kepler – Honor’s Universe Guidebook. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://sites.google.com/site/honorsuniverseguidebook2/isaac-newton-johannes-kepler
- Brooke, John Hedley, 1991, Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Bible. (2020, July 03). Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible
- The Relationship Between Science and Religion. (n.d.). Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience. doi:10.1891/9780826194268.0013
- McMullin, E. (1987). Bruno and Copernicus. Isis, 78(1), 55-74. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/232729
