A 2 part article on Religion, formation of it’s conception in early days, it’s journey through time and it’s present metaphor

Part – 2

A Meaningless Debate?

The debate between religion and science can be pernicious for our society. It can force people willing to be open to all thoughts and ideas to pick a side as arguments from both parties tend to be
divisive. Curious and open-minded religious people may become more irrational to defend their position. At the same time people with a scientific bent of mind might not patiently consider,
understand and reason through arguments from the other side, thereby abandoning the very principles they stand for. All this can play into the hands of selfish religious leaders and politicians
who seek to benefit from the division of the society.

Such a debate also runs the risk of being absurd as it attempts to convince irrational people by appealing to their rationality. Dissuading religion based on scientific theories of reason tends to attract only those people that are not deeply religious to begin with, and losing such fence-sitters often has little effect on religious entities whose primary rhetoric is aimed at people with a more submissive, gullible, or extremist mindset. Moreover, such a debate can easily assume a polarizing character as both sides try to undermine each other, and can lead to an echo chamber scenario, where arguments favouring a point of view are encountered by people mostly subscribing to it.

There are also a multitude of questions that may not admit a scientific solution (for e.g. is capitalism better than socialism? Which system of democracy works best?). Such questions involve too many uncontrollable variables and cannot be rigorously tested. The answers to these are unfalsifiable and also not concrete, changing with time and the state of society. These are not scientific questions perse, but important enough for us to find out the answers to. Religion represents a different epistemic system to deal with such problems. It can also act as a system to help manage a discord between people who disagree with a proposed solution. Therefore it is not a matter of choosing one of science or religion, both have their own significant contributions in different spheres, and both are required.

The objective of such debates appears to be to win an argument, to show superiority in a game of one upmanship, or to make everyone agree with ones point of view. The debate seems to be driven
more by ego rather than a quest for truth. However, the ultimate aim should be to achieve cooperation for the benefit of the society. With no clear consensus among the masses, the debate
appears to drag humanity further away from this objective. We must ask ourselves, “what is the meaning of gaining knowledge? Is it merely discovering the truth, or does it encompass disseminating it as well so that everyone understands it? Is learning enough or does it also involve that the society in general applies it for constructive and positive purposes instead of just
disregarding it”?

“The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both” – Carl Sagan

Rather than eschewing religion, the scientific community should focus on harnessing its power to reach out to the common people. We must think of ways to incorporate modern knowledge among religious practices. For example climate conservation actions can manifest in forms like animal ethics and respect for natural environment, which religions can promote. We must also think of ways to make beliefs more dynamic so that they can be amended with the changing times. We must not make the mistake of treating religious leaders as scientifically ignorant, but treat them as scholars who are socially adept at communicating with the masses and in a better position to spread the message of knowledge.

Interaction Between the Scientific Community and the General Public

Most interaction of the scientific community with the general public occurs in the form of public lectures, demonstrations, fairs, and popular science books, shows and videos. Even if great efforts
are made to make them interesting and engaging, the content often may not have any direct applicability for the audience. As such the common people may be momentarily impressed and have respect for the scientists but it is unlikely to have a lasting influence on them. Also, many scientists become popular due to their frequent appearances in TV shows, movies, or winning prestigious
prizes. Although garnering a wider audience, their interactions would still have the same problems, as most such audience is attracted by their celebrity status, not scientific acumen.

While interacting with the public, scientists should also be wary of the increasingly greater divide between the rich and the poor. Most scientists are well-educated, a privilege that the rich can afford more easily. This could cause a further disconnect between scientists and the masses, whose primary concern would be to fulfil basic necessities and would have little time or training to invest in appreciating scientific endeavours. From their perspective, modern science has deprived them of luxury and happiness, and left them worse off; and they would prefer to live in the ancient golden times that the scriptures claim existed. So scientists interacting with the public do not automatically start from a respectable position owing to their education; they begin from a position of lack of trust, which may not be easily earned if they start by completely contradicting presently held beliefs. On the other hand, many religious leaders come from humble backgrounds and are viewed more favourably by the public as ‘one of their own’.

Unfortunately, there does not seem to exist any easier method for this interaction, possibly due to the complexity of the field. The primary mode of contact appears to be indirect through the
products and services created by these advancements. However this channel involves a lot of intermediaries, and it goes outside the scope and control of scientists- perhaps more in the realm of
social science- a sphere in which religion is more prominent. Irrespective of the interactions, the influence of science and technology on the lives of the masses has proliferated immensely in recent
times. Technological advancements as well as the overall affluence of society has made us much better off materialistically. As we move into the future, new standards and methods of outreach are
required to ensure an inclusive and holistic progress of humanity. Simultaneously new avenues to achieve this are becoming available. Also new problems have arisen, such as environment, poverty, equitable distribution of wealth, education, population, healthcare, social and gender inequality etc., which science and religion (and multiple other disciplines) must collectively address. We must contemplate about how science can become a part of our culture (outside of material products), to fully realize its potential to benefit the society.

Integrating Religion and Science

It may be argued that religion is often incompatible with scientific knowledge and integrating the two is very challenging. However in modern times, religious texts are frequently reinterpreted, and incorporating scientific knowledge is often possible. For instance, some interpretations of the story of Genesis claim that it is compatible with the big bang theory, and mythological characters like Ardhanarishwara and Shikhandi can be used to spread awareness about the rights of the LGBTQ community. Additions and deletions from established norms have continuously occurred in religious contexts to keep up with the times, for instance the changes in dietary recommendations for Hindu Brahmins [16]. Indeed there are ongoing attempts to incorporate religion in psychotherapy [17]. Applying scientific knowledge can also help out in better understanding religious practices and render rituals more useful and effective. For example, principles of Vastu Shastra can be better followed in their spirit if the reasons behind them are understood and kept in mind; and knowing the properties of spices will facilitate an easier following of recipes (though not strictly religious, a recipe has the tendency to be handed and followed like a tenet). We can argue that religious literature (like Mahabharat) are themselves attempts at integrating the two, whose tales incorporate aspects such as morality, justice, philosophy, technological aspirations, etc. relevant to the time period they were composed in. In fact, their rewritings and translations have suitable modifications to reflect furtherdevelopments in these aspects[18].

Religion can influence the society in both positive and negative ways, and science has a crucial role to play by indicating the direction best suited for progress. For example, religious leaders can
endorse vaccination and mask wearing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Religious institutions can advocate the idea of family planning, and can also encourage people to protect their children from child labour and promote education. A previous example of a wide ranging cultural influence affected by religion is the adoption of vegetarianism in ancient India, which has led to a significantly higher percentage of vegetarians in the country than the global average[19], even till the present day. Although this may have been done for ethical reasons, it may help in the context of combating
climate change[20]. The integration does not necessarily need to be one sided. Religious institutions can also benefit from the use of technology to improve public outreach, to raise money and receive donations for charitable work, or to learn new techniques to better serve the society.

This by no means advocates the creation of new religions in the process, which run the risk of turning into cults with new founders exercising excess power, having too few followers to have any
impact, or being suited to the present times but ultimately stagnating and becoming like traditional religions in a short span of time. We must realize that the modern world has a different social order with situations unfamiliar to both religion and science, such as the integration of peoples from all over the world, advent of the information age, and new concepts like nations. The level of
cooperation between religion and science might decide how close we are to being an intelligent species and/or the supreme creations of God.

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind” – Albert Einstein

Summary

Religion should be seen more like a cultural, rather than a spiritual concept, that has historically augmented societal harmony. Scientific knowledge as well as concepts like nations and democracy
have relieved religion of many of its traditional roles such as political unification and education. However, it remains relevant in the psychological realm where it acts either as an agent for providing mental peace and satisfaction, as a means to bond with others, or as a motivating force giving confidence and meaning to life. It can still play its traditional roles in cases where modern
unifying concepts (like nationalism) are not sufficient, such as for climate action or for protection of minority communities. Moreover our interpretation of justice and rights, the fundamental
considerations for modernity[21], are heavily influenced by culture and consequently religion, and it can play a guiding role when we consider non-scientific questions such as philosophical or ethical dilemmas in the future.

However religion is not a silver bullet, it is more like a double edged sword. It has the downsides of being delusional or being inculcated from childhood without choice. But the same problems also
arise due to many inter-subjective concepts like nationality and money, which are no less serious than those caused by religion. Perhaps the riskiest aspect of religion is that it can easily be used to
manipulate and instigate people, and therefore a constant guidance from other disciplines (sciences/social sciences) is required to keep it aligned with the ideals it stands for. Additionally,
science also needs to help religion to systematically remove obsolete practices. Just like it is desirable to have people from diverse cultures, races, genders, and nationalities to intermingle, it is
important to have interactions between people from different religions, and indeed between more and less religious people, so that they become capable of understanding and learning from each
other, instead of bickering. This interaction can be facilitated by modern technology.

Religious teachings often do not demand any mentally challenging efforts or trainings from the audiences. They deliver their message in a simple, clear, and sometimes entertaining form, which
makes it more palatable and amenable to be understood using a simplistic, non-convoluted model of the world. Hence religion is an effective tool to reach out to people from different backgrounds and walks of life. It also appeals to the emotions of people thereby arousing a more passionate following and a greater likelihood of responses to calls for action. It renders itself as a ready-made medium for the scientific community to spread their knowledge for the benefit of humanity. However such an endeavour requires a collaboration between the scientific and religious communities, where both parties are able to accept each other’s strengths in order to go beyond their own limitations. They do not have to be consistent with each other, but learn to cooperate with and strengthen each other in spite of their differences. They must work towards a mature outlook on their relationship for the greater good of the world.

Part 1

References
[1] https://www.livescience.com/52364-origins-supernatural-relgious-beliefs.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asaram
[3] https://www.learnreligions.com/are-there-any-atheistic-religions-248415
[4] Gregory S Paul, “Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular
Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies”. Journal of Religion & Society, Volume 7
(2005)
[5] Landon Schnabel, Opiate of the masses? Inequality, religion, and political ideology in the United
States, Social Forces (2021)
[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-brief-history-of-the-enduring-phony-science-thatperpetuates-white-supremacy/2019/04/29/20e6aef0-5aeb-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html
[7] Daniel Kahneman, “Thinking, Fast and Slow”
[8] https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=42
[9] http://www.jstor.org/stable/29768089
[10] https://andjournalin.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/2016_1.pdf
[11] Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy by Robert H. Frank
[12] Todd Chan, Nicholas M. Michalak, Oscar Ybarra, “When God is your only friend: Religious beliefs
compensate for purpose in life in the socially disconnected”. Journal of Personality, Volume 87 Issue
3 (2019)
[13] Yuval Noah Harari, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”
[14] https://blogs.loc.gov/kluge/2020/07/the-20th-century-transformation-of-the-dalit-movementin-india/
[15] https://www.onlymoneytalk.com/average-salary-in-india-after-different-degree/
[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brahmin_diet
[17] Rajaei, Ali Reza, “Religious cognitive–emotional therapy: A new form of psychotherapy”, Iranian
journal of psychiatry (2010)
[18] https://www.templepurohit.com/difference-valmiki-ramayana-tulsidas-ramcharitmanas/
[19] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280079/global-country-ranking-vegetarian-share/
[20] Livestock in a changing landscape, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000159194
[21] https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/36038_1.pdf