Commentary: Does Religion Hinder Independent Thinking?
Close your eyes after reading this paragraph. Keep them closed and think about the world you wish you could live in. Make it a perfect world for you, but be sure it's based on some type of reality that exists today. Think about how daily life would be structured. Think about the morals and values people in your world would follow. Don't forget health and children's issues or education - and don't open your eyes to read on before you have a full picture of your ideal world. Close your eyes now.
BACK TO THE REAL WORLD YOU LIVE IN
As wonderful as your perfectly envisioned world is, it's guaranteed to be rejected by the majority of people in the "real" world. Living in the "real" world shows us no individual person's ideals match the ideals of the majority of the people on the planet.
If you were to walk into an airport, supermarket, library, restaurant and ask the first 10 adults you see to perform this little exercise they'd probably describe similar characteristics in their ideal worlds. Most would have peace on earth, healthy and happy lives, children educated and raised with the same faith and beliefs as their own, etc.
Apologies to Shakespeare's Hamlet but - "there's the rub." Nearly everyone wishes s/he could live in a world defined by his or her own perspective. While all may wish for "peace on earth" the road to that goal differs in large measure based upon individual faiths and beliefs. And while religion is in frequent opposition to independent thinking the better question is: does it have to be that way?
WHAT DID HAWKING AND EINSTEIN SAY
Not surprisingly history provides us with a long list of scientists who were also devout in their religious beliefs. Two of the most renown are quoted below, and a list of preeminent scientists along with their religions can be found online here:
"One could imagine that God created the universe at the instant of the big bang, or even afterwards in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang, but it would be meaningless to suppose that it was created before the big bang. An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job!" [Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time (New York: Bantam, 1988, pp. 8-9.]
"One can have the clearest and most complete knowledge of what is, and yet not be able to deduct from that what should be the goal of our human aspirations. Objective knowledge provides us with powerful instruments for the achievements of certain ends, but the ultimate goal itself and the longing to reach it must come from another source." [Albert Einstein Ideas and Opinions, pp.41 - 49, taken from an address at Princeton Theological Seminary, May 19, 1939 and published in Out of My Later Years, New York: Philosophical Library, 1950.]
YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME. . .
In school you probably learned that all people from San Francisco are Californians, but not all Californians are from San Francisco. So just because a large number of independent thinking scientists are/have been deeply committed to religious/spiritual belief systems doesn't translate to all scientists being the same way.
Conversely, it certainly has been evident through the centuries that religion has frequently and consistently been at odds with science. Galileo's proposed excommunication from the church for asserting the earth was not flat and the sun did not revolve around it being one of the most famous examples. Today - from stem cell research to the broiling hot button topic of abortion - religion and independent thinking clash with regularity.
NEXT QUESTION:
Does the overall intolerance of religion by independent thinkers and vis versa equate to an impossible ability to coexist harmoniously?
The answer is no - when people don't want it to, and yes - when they do. There are religious leaders and groups working towards peaceful coexistence between Christians, Jews and Muslims. There are also religious leaders preaching disaster and ruination at the thought of accepting any religion other their own. The same applies to Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists and Freethinkers - who can be open and tolerant of all religions, or overly judgmental and critical of each.
WHAT'S THE CURRENT TREND?
One thing is clear. Over the last 18 years the so-called "religious right" in America has expanded its influence, and over the same corresponding time period an American Religious Identification Survey conducted by Trinity College (released in March 2009) found the only demographic group which grew in all 50 states over the last 18 years was "no religion."
It appears an ever growing number of Americans are losing faith in organized religions. The increased growth in this segment of the population seems to cause a "push-back" from religious leadership and their committed followers. The United States, and the world, is becoming increasing divided. With so many religions and groups insisting on their "way or the highway" it becomes evident that the rights of one inevitably tramples on the rights of others. It's like trying to find balance on a see-saw. If the person at the other end pushes hard off the ground you'll bang back down. Only when both want to find the middle ground can it be done.
IS THERE A MORAL TO THIS STORY?
If there is it would be: Tolerance increases the likelihood of religion and independent thinking working hand in hand and intolerance decreases it.
If the perfect world you first envisioned wasn't a tolerant one, maybe you're convinced to revise yours now. Since religion and independent thinking seem to do well with each other when tolerance is key - - What if that world consisted of all different types of religions but everyone was tolerant of the others? Perhaps a country could be formed based on freedom of religion with a constitution and bill of rights to guarantee free speech, freedom of religion, and tolerance for independent thinking when it opposes one's own convictions.
Just a thought.