Philosophy, Science, and Religion: Philosophy and Religion

Now that school is over, I was searching through Coursera for another course I could take during this summer and I decided to look outside my comfort zone. I have always been interested in the relationship between science and religion. This course examines some key questions such as “What kind of conflicts are there between religion and science?” or “If God made us so that we know him, why are there so many people who don’t believe in him?” Though I am not religious, there are many people in my family who are Christians and therefore I have grown up familiar with the bible and various Christian teachings.

In the first week, there were some interesting ideas brought up in the reading we had to do. What caught my initial interest was the debate Can religious beliefs be rational vs Whether religious beliefs are true. First, we have to understand that one can have false but rational beliefs. One way of thinking about whether religious belief is rational is by examining the evidence that believers can give to support their beliefs. This is how we often assess how or if a belief is rational. Therefore, if you have solid evidence for believing something, that belief is considered rational, even if it is later proven to be false. Take for instance a scientist who holds a belief because of evidence. Later, they may be proven wrong if new evidence is uncovered. However, they would still be considered rational.

There are many different types of evidence. Evidence can come from a personal religious experience, from scripture, or even testimony from their peers in the religious community. For non-believers or atheists, however, would evidence pulled from scripture be considered valid evidence? Does the evidence need to be independent of the subject’s religious beliefs? Good evidence would support the belief that God existed without requiring you to already believe that God exists. But ultimately, is proving that God exists even possible? This has been a key issue recently as the evidence used previously is no longer considered a good way to support the rationality of religious belief.

These are some examples of evidence used to prove the existence of God.

1. Ontological argument — The very nature of God is evidence that he exists.
2. Teleological argument — The idea that logically, there must be a first cause to everything that exists, and therefore, this likely points to God as the only possible source capable of fulfilling this role.
3. Design argument — The evidence in nature is so overwhelming which suggests the existence of a master designer who brought the universe into existence.

Coming from a family that places great value in science, I was shocked when a friend (and ex-schoolmate) who was visiting my house for a sleepover looked at my bookshelf and asked why I had books about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this but then she asked, “Doesn’t your family go to church?” While she had no idea of my religious belief, in various discussions in past classes, I was able to participate with knowledge about the bible because of attending bible study with my aunt or cousin when I was young. To my amazement, she then confided to me that she didn’t believe in evolution or the Big Bang. In fact, she told me in hushed tones that she believed the world to be flat. Seeing the incomprehension on my face, she then pulled out her phone and proceeded to show me a Youtube video Flat Earthers vs Scientists: Can We Trust Science? which completely shocked me. I had no idea that for some people, these theories were highly controversial and doubtful because they clashed with their faith.

I was shaken. While I knew that Darwin had many detractors after On the Origin of Species was published, we weren’t living in the 1800s anymore. After my friend left, I called various relatives who were Christians to confirm whether or not they believed in evolution and that the world was round. With the exception of a much older great-aunt (close to 90), they all professed a belief in science while also reaffirming their faith in God. My great-aunt said that she believed that God gave us science such as medical advances and technology, but believed that as God created man and woman in his image, man could have no evolutionary connection to primates.

Since then, I have always been fascinated by the relationship between science and religion. I’m not looking for a definitive answer here though. I understand that faith is something deeply personal, and while I am open to a higher being, I am still searching for my own truth. I just wanted to clearly state that I am taking this course purely for the purpose of learning and will try to be as objective as possible.