Faith In Religion And Science

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Since the dawn of mankind religion has been one of the most significant elements of a society’s social and cultural beliefs and actions. However, this trend has declined due to the general increase in knowledge regarding our the natural sciences. Where we had previously attributed something that we didn’t understand to the working of a higher power, is now replaced by a simple explanation offered by natural sciences. While advocates of Religion may question Natural Sciences by stating that they are based on assumptions, it is important to note the Natural Sciences are based on theories and principles which can be proven using mathematical equations and formulas. Faith however contrasts from the easily visible feasibility of data considering Natural Sciences as faith is simply believing without substantial evidence. While faith in religion has in the past helped individuals make morally right choices, faith in religion has also lead to unsubstantiated actions by followers. Meanwhile, faith in natural sciences has constantly been detrimental as nothing in Natural Sciences can be established without evidence that coincides with the rest of the laws of Nature. Faith in Natural Sciences has been hindering human development for centuries due to the faith in religion of some early religious bodies. One of the best examples is the belief that the Universe was geocentric, or that the Earth was the center of the universe. The church, due its faith both in religion which resulted in its faith in natural sciences confirmed the Earth’s position due to statements in the bible. Meanwhile Galileo Galilei found out that the Earth was not geocentric and in fact heliocentric, not through faith but through scientific methods. The Catholic Church’... ... middle of paper ... ...ic theories of the time were created from faith in Religion which was the predominant authority in earlier periods, and thus earlier modern science could be viewed as a subject only credible when viewed with faith. We would still be using faith to comprehend occurrences in nature if it hadn’t been for the shift of power from faith in religion to human reasoning and logic. All in all I believe that while faith in religion and science may sometimes seem harmless and even beneficial, the risks are great and misconception as well as misrepresentation of facts has occurred several times in history. Faith in the natural sciences is not substantiated as natural sciences require the scientific methodology to make any assertion legitimate; however religion contrasts in the way that religion offers “Answers to mysteries” that cannot be found - and thus cannot be proved.

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