Are Science and religion mutually exclusive?

Question: Are Science and religion mutually exclusive!?

And what about mythology, witchcraft and folk law!?
Do you "trust" science more than anything else!?
Does science exclude other esoteric forms of *knowledge* and wisdom!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Given the present state of human understanding the both are not only mutually exclusive but often are at lager heads with one another regarding certain crucial issues the understanding of which involves precise knowledge!. This is uncommon to think, how did the world come about!? And did human race really evolve from primitive life forms!? These are the questions that both science and religion are clear about and yet as diametrically opposed in their understanding as anything ever could be!. I believe science in its present form is merely the beginning of acquisition of certain knowledge, and as this beginning is open ended, therefore, it is possible in the future that these two ways of thinking might merge, formulating singular understanding about all things in the mind!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Science is empirical!. That is to say, the scientific community will only consider something a 'truth' if they have sensory evidence for it!. The scientific method, like it or not, has the most objective and impartial claims to knowledge!. Religion on the other hand, relies on belief, and regards evidence as unnecessary, or even undesirable!. Creationists, mediums, Deepak Chopra and similar mystics all aspire to the rigorous scientific method in order to add weight to their claims!. I am not suggesting that science is without its problems (one only has to glance at Popper to realise this) but as it stands, science has greater claims to knowledge than religion can ever hope to without empirical evidence!. For this reason, I believe (!!?) that they are not completely exclusive (many such as Descartes and Steven Hawkins have tried to reconcile them) but their methodologies certainly are!.
Finally, Science often tries to increase knowledge - chemistry came from alchemy and therefore does not exclude esoteric knowledge/wisdom as such, but attempts to give it a rigorous scientific grounding!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Science doesn't exclude anything! It is a discipline!. There is, for example, a science of god, Theology!. Religion (and that term needs to be defined), at least fundamentalist religion, excludes all that does not believe their exact dogma!. Science is the discipline that pursues absolute truth by the scientific method Religion can mean any thing that one accepts as guiding their every action, their very being!.

In the debate between science and fundamentalist theology that goes on in the USA today we have self styled "experts" on both sides dogmatically sure that they have the only approach to and knowledge of truth!. They do a great disservice to humanity!.

Good luck in discovering truth, good mental health, peace and Love!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Science is supposed to be based on observation, on fact where as religion is based on belief, on faith, and both have their place in the human experience!.
Scientists now tell us that the observer influences or interferes with the facts, with the results, so that reality is relative to the observer, and as such it cannot exclude esoteric forms of knowledge or wisdom!. There are too many fantastic unexplained phenomena that cannot be dealt with by science, and this is recognised by scientists, who are not embarrassed to speculate with theories that cannot yet be proved!.!.

Theoretical physics deals with things that we cannot see but which have impact on those things we can see!. Quantum theory works but we don't really understand it!. When you have a particle that becomes a wave and goes through two different holes at the same time, or the theories on parallel universes and multiple dimensions you start seeing science approach the religious domain!.!. New physics has replaced Newton's classic claim of "cause and effect," at least in the microworld!. Now we can have something happen without a cause!.

There are many invisible forces all around us, and although we can not see them we feel their presence!. Why stop at electromagnetism or gravity!? science and religion are not mutually exclusive, they are complimentary!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think, in time we will see that science and religion are very similar!. I think that witchcraft and folk law, exist also and i know science cannot explain, but im sure eventually there will be evidence!. There is not scientific evidence to prove that Reflexology works, but there are thousands of cases where it has helped people in many ways, such as fertility!. Personally i'm not sure if I fully trust anything, but I do feel that Science brings us closer to religion, even if there are a few contradictions along the way!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Suppose that tomorrow the religious leader of your choice declares that his god has told him that the Sun is no longer rising!. Hang on, I'm going somewhere with this!. You look out your window the next day and you see the Sun, same as usual!. Do you decide that you are confused, travelling in time, misled by evil, or something!? Or do you just decide that the religious leader is off his rocker!?

I think most of us would go with the latter!. If your religion tells you something that you observe not to be so - even if you give them the benefit of the doubt to a wide degree - eventually experience usually wins!. This is as it should be!. If you divorce yourself entirely from reality, reality has a way of destroying you!.

All this means is that if there is ever doubt in a particular question whether a religious viewpoint or a scientific one is correct, the better one to give heed to is the scientific one!. Science is based as soundly as possible in objective experience and repeatability!. People are confident about science because it WORKS!.

We need now to distinguish real science from peoples' impressions of it!. They are very different things!. Science will NEVER answer every question that exists!. Good scientists know this!. But there are bad scientists too, as well as non-scientists who are happy to distort, over-apply, and otherwise make good science look bad!.

Most scientists in fact also have a religious belief!. They do not see any contradiction at all!. They may say that a divinity was not necessary to produce the complexity and diversity you see!. But that doesn't mean that none could possibly be involved in the process!. In fact, many feel that true knowledge of the universe can only enhance their appreciation of whatever they feel was responsible for it!.

After all, isn't it JUST as wrong to give the Divine credit for things it was not necessarily involved with as it is to give it no credit whatsoever!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

No they are not mutually exclusive!. In general, science answers 'how' and religion answers 'why' everything is what it is!. There are examples of where science and certain religions do have contradictory viewpoints but there is still a vast amount of unknown knowledge, meaning that science and religion cannot be mutually exclusive!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Science and religion are not inherently exclusive - The are certain questions which science cannot answer, such as: "What happened before the beginning of time!?" "What happens to my consciousness when I die!?" "What is the meaning of life!?" For science, these questions are nonsensical - they have no meaning because science has no context in which to understand or answer these questions!. Science deals with the observable world!. These questions go beyond the observable world!. This is where religion can step in!.

Religion provides a context in which these questions have meaning and can be answered (rightly, wrongly, or even at all is beside the point)!. But religion, like science, has its limits!. Whereas science doens't function properly as a guide beyond the observable world, religion does not function as a guide within the observable world!. It isn't equipped to deal with the questions science asks - it can't give them context!. None of the prophets, nor any of the holy texts can help us build a better rocket, or discover the physical mechanisims by which our world came into being!.

Simply put, both science and religion have their place, one in the observable world, the other in a world which can never be observed!.

***The problem is when one tries to intrude upon the other!.***

Now, to you first sub-question, I would categorize "mythology, witchcraft, and folk law(!?)" as religions alongside the other examples of religion!. They each work in their own realm, but fall apart if they step outside it!.

To the second, I "trust" science as much as one can "trust" a system of thinking!. I recognize the limitations of this system, but I trust that, when carried out properly, science is the best system we have for understanding the observable world!.

The thrid sub-question is answered above!. Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Not completely!. But mostly!.
Science contradicts all traditional religious explanations of creation!.
And plenty of religious happenings (raining fire, entire world-consuming flood, etc) are commonly believed to be scientifically impossible!.
For example - Catholics can't wrap their brains around the concept of long-term evolution!. And many a scientist can't wrap their brains around the concept of something more powerful than anything they can witness or have witnessed!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

only one proverb works for it - SEEING IS BELIEVING AND HERESAY ARE HALFLIES" - whatever is experienced is right and rest all is wrong !. There are innumerable subjects , which is to be believed and which is not to be!. Say for example - Metaphisics - tells about the cerbral system and estrel or ethric body seperating the physical body and on site - www!.metaphysics!.com with the assetion of university of US, conferring degrees of Bachelor , Masters is worth believing due to the events being experienced !.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Science, finally, is a religion!.
What is there under atoms!? Why do they exist!? What was there before big-bang!?!?!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Religion is the quest for truth!.
Science is the pursuit of knowledge!.

Both are one and the same!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Anything is possible, but the more people that believe the truer it is or will become!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Religion is about 'faith'!. You either believe or you don't, and it's on an intuitive level that has little to do with the facts at hand!.

This is only against science if your religious belief directly makes you choose between them!. Two Christians will have different notions of the bible, one might believe in creationism (that god literally created the world in six days as depicted in the bible) while the other will interpret it to fit in with scientific evidence - that the bible's depiction is not literal, but is explaining things in a way that the people of the day would have understood!.

Certainly Wicca (the religion of 'witchcraft') would fall into religious belief also!. Though elements of witchcraft are based on herbcraft, and historically wise women were often simply labelled witches because they knew about basic medicines which people of the day thought were magic!. You could say they were some of the first doctors/scientists!. It really depends on what your understanding of 'witchcraft' is in how I could answer that!.

Mythology and folklore have no 'followers' as far as I'm aware - it is commonly understood they are simply fictitious stories passed down over the years!.

Should you "trust" science!? Well, there is the science that has been 'proved' which I believe when it's conducted in an intelligent manner!. This is when many tests have been done and have proved conclusive!.

Then there are scientific 'theories' which are akin to religious belief!. It's an idea that someone has based on the rules as we know them - but is something that to date is unprovable!. The Big Bang Theory (creation of the universe) for example, is a strongly held belief rather than scientific fact!. So, on one hand you have many scientists sniggering at religous creationists saying 'God created the world from nothing to this in 6 days', while we have scientists saying 'there was nothing, and then there was a big bang, and the universe came into existance!.'

Many scientists are suspicious of 'estoteric' forms of knowledge and wisdom because it is difficult to prove - and it is something outside of their own understanding!. But this is partly a modern preoccupation - as a society we are more skeptical, we wish to see proof, to have evidence!. We suspect someone who says something and is unable to prove it!.

In the past - when people were more superstitious - scientists were often more open to the paranormal etc!. For example, when the electricity was discovered, no one knew what it was!. There was a host of theories including that it was dead people's spirits!. This is because they didn't understand things on a molecular level!.

Unfortunately, with our increased knowledge, comes a closing of the mind!. We believe less in 'possibilities'!. If you read about the way great inventors used to work, you realise they would have been hindered in this day and age (see Thomas Edison's biography 'Edison and the Electric Chair' for a great read)!. A scientist without an imagination is incapable of discovering much new!. On the upside, many scientific inventions in the past 20 odd years have been inspired by Science Fiction stories - leaving the ideas to the writers and the scientists to go 'hmm, if we used the theory of!.!.!. that might work!.'

I believe that a *good* scientist wouldn't ignore results simply because they don't understand them - I believe life is more complicated than we will ever uncover - a good scientist should keep an open mind and search for answers even in areas that are beyond their current level of understanding!. We don't know how the universe came into existance, but there's no doubt that it does exist - so it is important to realise that there's a whole world of phenomenon out there that we may never be able to fully explain!.

At the end of the day, we are all human beings, and even a scientist will have thoughts and gut instincts they believe even if they can't prove!. They might not write a paper on it, or shout it from the roof tops, but our beliefs inform our every day actions on a subconscious level!.Www@QuestionHome@Com