by Peter Robertson

Created on: September 20, 2010

There are countless arguments over whether the modern world should follow science or religion, of course in such an intimate subject people inevitably become extremely passionate over the debate. However I don’t believe this debate is truly valid; the truth is that science and religion are fundamentally different.

Preceding modern science, we had various forms including philosophical science, where our older philosophers spoke using scientific methods of understanding and comprehending their focus. However what we also find is many of those philosophers were highly religions and often their quests were in seek and pursuit of God. In this case, science was used as a technique towards gaining insight and understanding to better understand the religious beliefs that were already carried.

In this sense, there is an origin of difference between the two which has carried onward through-out history.

Science is a methodology; it is a number of processes and structures which we use to understand events that occur. It gives us a very physical understanding of the world around us in constant question, as there is no absolute fact within science but instead a most plausible reason based on evidence that supports the thought; or more specifically the inability to disprove a concept.

Religion is a belief structure; it comes from a more emotional, human side of us. The speculation in religion isn’t so much why each event took place but the meaning behind why they took place.

In reality science observes, gives us understanding. Religion speculates over a greater meaning, it attempts to reason.

To take a physical example; science states the case for the ‘big bang,’ the creation of our physical universe. Prior to that, science tends not to focus on as the understanding is that there were merely micro-particles or energy. It has managed to observe and speculate the growth of the universe from that point, the evolution of our planet to the point of modern times.

Religion speaks of God or Gods creating our universe, for the most part the scriptures aren’t taken literally or there is no complete understanding how this happened. So many who are both religious and scientific have come to understand that their God/s created the universe and the process in that was what science describes.

Essentially the two are not in argument at all and that science essentially understands how the events happened that the religious creator started. Different religious beliefs have used science countless times through-out history. Many eastern religions are often considered to be very closely related to science in their concepts and understanding. This again comes more from scientific philosophy.

In any case science and religion aren’t in argument at all but one will answer what the other cannot. Science and religion answer two different things, one answers what the other cannot. They are not in disagreement or argument but completely different in what they intrinsically are.

Dogs and cats can be related to one another, both make great pets however they are essentially different and fill different needs with the owner. You can easily have both or like both, even use both for different things. In some instances they may cross one another but overall they are two separate entities that bare little relation to one another. The same can easily be said for science and religion.

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