Science Vs.

Religion European science dramatically advanced during the 16th and 17th centuries, a period that historians now refer to as the scientific revolution. While scientists during the late middle ages were making discoveries, a tipping point occurred in the area of astronomy when Copernicus published his sun-centered theory of the cosmos, which overturned the prevailing earth-centered model that dated back to the time of Aristotle. This sparked innovations in all areas of science, including the development of more sophisticated scientific instruments. In addition to the particular discoveries that were made, scientists also developed methods of scientific investigation, which they felt would help them push the boundaries of knowledge more efficiently and systematically. The Renaissance is generally accepted to have started in Italy. Many believe that this was due to its almost perfect location between Western Europe and the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Italian cities became important as trade centers and as commercial centers. This wealth helped sustain the political and social changes that were occurring at the time As science moved forward, it inevitably raised questions about the compatibility of religion and science, a new twist to the longstanding issue of the relation between faith and reason. While many advances during the scientific revolution reshaped peoples conceptions of the place of humans in the cosmos, this was especially so with the shift away from the old medieval earth-centered system towards the sun-centered one. First, under the older sun-centered system, the universe was of finite size: at the outer edges all the stars were attached to a single orbital

sphere that rotated around the earth at its inner core. The very placement of the earth at the center of things was a sign that humans were at the focal point of Gods creative activity. Under the new system, though, the universe is infinitely large, with stars strewn everywhere across the sky, and the earth is no longer the physical center of things. Second, under the old system, heavenly bodies such as the sun, moon and planets were thought to be made from perfect eternal substances that were vastly different in composition from the finite and imperfect material stuff that made up the earth. Under the new system, though, heavenly bodies are stripped of their eternal nature and instead composed of the same finite stuff as the earth. Third, under the old system, God was seen as an active force in the daily functioning of the universe, and the ultimate source of all motion. Under the new system, though, the physical universe is potentially self-sustaining. Even if God did create everything at the start, the new model offered a mechanistic explanation of the cosmoss operation that did not rely on God as a continuing active force. The Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution affected the Enlightenment by these different groups having mixed ideas and the refusal of the Catholic Church to release its dominance and positional authority over the people. The Enlightenment thinkers became persecuted, thrown in jail, and their writings were burned. Religious wars broke out between the Catholics and Protestants, which gave the impression to some individuals that organized religion was fallible, creating a window of opportunity to push the philosophies of science into European life. After the revolt against the churches lead to a more punitive approach, thousands of people (majority women) lost their lives over the fact of being caught in exploring science, which was acclaimed witchcraft amongst the churches. "The Enlightenment was more a frame of mind than a coherent movement. Individuals who embraced it drew inspiration from different sources and promoted different agendas. Its proponents were clearer about what they disliked than what changes were necessary. Although many circumstances shaped "enlightenment" thinking, the new scientific methods and discoveries provided the clearest model for changing European Society. The Enlightenment was only an intellectual concept to achieve change in an aspect of critical thinking. Science deals with the study of nature, its forces, processes and development. It is based on the analysis of evidence. It assumes, as a working hypothesis, that processes and events happen due to natural causes, not through divine intervention. It rarely intrudes in matters of morality, the existence and nature of deity, spirituality, etc. Religion deals with matters of faith. Its main basis is often revelation from a deity -- orally transmitted from generation to generation, recorded in a sacred text, or revealed to individuals through prayer. Most faith groups teach of the existence of one or more deities who created the universe, and continue to play a major role in managing it -- sometimes bypassing the laws of nature to create miracles. A main function of religion is to teach moral principles, mankind's relationship to God (, behavior towards other humans, spiritual matters, etc. The main battles between religion and science are in areas in which they overlap. Here, both often hold conflicting positions. Many people feel that their own religious tradition is absolutely true, whereas science and all other faiths are artificial and deeply flawed belief systems, invented by error-prone humans. This attitude often fuels

religious conflict, sometimes escalating into mass crimes against humanity and genocide. The result is that different religious traditions battle each other, as well as disagree with the findings of science. Science generally welcomes change. Many false hypotheses are proposed and later rejected or modified as new data becomes available. This is the method by which science continually advances. It is ultimately selfcorrecting. All scientific beliefs are subject to being falsified if new evidence is uncovered. One example is the cause of stomach ulcers. For decades, physicians treated patients with ulcers by using long-term stress relief programs, permanent dietary changes and continuing medication to reduce stomach acid. They achieved only moderate success. Then an Australian doctor proved that many forms of stomach ulcers were caused by a bacterium that could be eliminated with a single shot of antibiotics. He single-handedly triggered a revolution in patient treatment. Religious beliefs, particularly those based on a sacred text, change much more slowly. In fact, many faith groups stress the unchangeable nature of their beliefs. There are three main methods by which religions modify their teachings. Change eventually happens. Most people no longer believe that; the earth is flat; the sun goes around the earth; lightning and thunder are caused by Satan and his demons; mental illness is caused by demonic possession; and that God expects that a certain number of children will die young; thus we should not inoculate our children against childhood diseases. Humanism both aided and impeded the advance of science. The Renaissance was less a dramatic rebirth of science than an age of preparation for the scientific revolution that was to come in the seventeenth century. The major contribution of the humanists was increased availability of ancient scientific authorities, as works by Galen, Ptolemy, Archimedes, and others were for the first time translated from Greek to Latin. An important contribution also came from the Scholastic tradition. Despite the scorn the humanists heaped upon them, the Scholastics insistence on systematic work habits and their enthusiasm for Aristotle promoted scientific studies. Humanism thwarted the advance of science by putting old authorities beyond the reach of criticism. Few scholars believed it possible to improve on the astronomy taught by Ptolemy or the medicine taught by Galen. Galen, for example, had taught that the blood moved from one side of the heart to the other by passing through invisible pores in the thick wall of tissue separating the two sides of the organ; actually, as William Harvey (1578-1657) was to show in 1616, the blood gets from the one side to the other by circulating through the body and lungs. Galens theory of invisible pores kept Leonardo da Vinci from anticipating Harvey; when his anatomical investigations led him to the brink of discovery, he backed away because he could not believe that Galen might have erred. Da Vinci (1452-1519) exemplifies both the shortcomings and the achievements of Renaissance science. He had little concern for systematic cataloging of observations and the publication of his findings and speculations. Yet Leonardo also showed remarkable inventiveness, drawing plans for lathes, pumps, war machines, flying machines, and many other contraptions, not all of them workable but all highly imaginative. He had a passionate curiosity about almost everything concerning human beings and nature.

His accurate drawings of human embryos differed radically from the older notion of the fetus as perfectly formed miniature human being. His geological studies convinced him that the earth was far older than the scholars of his time thought it to be. The Po River, he estimated, must have been flowing for 200,000 years to wash down the sediments forming its alluvial plain in northern Italy. It appears to be a widely accepted opinion in America that the long conflict between science and religion is at an end. It is often assumed that science and religion are two no conflicting bodies of knowledge, equally valuable complementary paths leading toward an ultimate understanding of the world and our place in it. The conflicts of the past are said to be due to excessive zeal and misunderstanding on both sides. Peaceful coexistence and even a measure of syncretism are assumed to be possible as long as each concedes to the other's authority in their separate worlds of knowledge: that of matter and facts for science, and that of the spirit and values for religion. While it may appear open-minded, modest, and comforting to many, this conciliatory view is nonsense. Science and religion are diametrically opposed at their deepest philosophical levels. And, because the two worldviews make claims to the same intellectual territory that of the origin of the universe and humankind's relationship to it, conflict is inevitable. Religion, philosophy, science, and psychology all come from the same human roots: We have a strong desire, even need, to understand the nature of the universe, our place in that universe, and the meaning of our lives. Religion included answers to these issues that have been psychologically satisfying as well as socially and politically powerful. Philosophy began separating from religion in the Greek and Roman times, and yet the great majority of people stuck with religion for their answers. In the renaissance and enlightenment, science began to separate from both religion and philosophy, and still the great majority remained loyal to religious dogma. And throughout much of history, religions have often taken a strongly anti-philosophical and antiscientific position. Psychology inherits some of these issues, even into the modern era. It is valuable to any student of the history of philosophy, science, and psychology to understand the roots of religious belief and the power of those beliefs. The Lambeth proposals, which were promulgated by a conference of Anglican and Episcopal bishops from all over the world in August, 1920, provided, in brief, for a reunion of the churches on the basis that priests of the Roman and Greek Catholic Churches would be accepted as priests of the Anglican Church if their own communions would reciprocate, while it was asked of the Protestant Churches that they would allow their ministers to submit to preordination by Anglican or Episcopal bishops. Meetings were held during the 1920's to try and further the cause, but HYPERLINK "http://www.1920-30.com/religion/church-union.html" acceptance of ordination authority was a major stumbling block. Scientific discoveries and theories flourished causing doubt on the biblical version of events. Educational institutions promoted scientific learning based on facts causing some to label them as " HYPERLINK "http://www.1920-30.com/religion/agnosticism.html" incubators of agnosticism ". Religion, like much of American culture, took sharp turns during the nineteen twenties. America had, for the past three or four decades, been

working its way to modernism, and now that it had arrived there would be innovations and controversies in all areas of life, including religion. The comforting traditional religious ideals of the past were clashing with the exciting and modern ideas that were teeming in the cities. The Fundamentalist - Modernist schism, although brewing underneath the surface for awhile, was brought to head when Harry Emerson Fosdick delivered his speech "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" at the First Presbyterian Church at New York. The speech was hardly complementary to the Fundamentalists and their ideals and questioned the scientific authenticity of some passages of the Bible like the virgin birth of Christ. This speech caused uproar in the religious world and prompted Pastor Clarence MacCartney to write his own retaliation speech, "Shall Unbelief Win." In the 19th century, it was understood that the great advances of the late 18th, and early 19th century, it was made possible of the mobilization of nature in the interest of the human progress. In 1851, the worlds first international exposition was held on England, The Crystal Palace. The Palace contained technology that was new to attendees, because of the great expiration triumph based on science. Talking about the relation between science and religion and in a Global perspective, Europe became less dominant in World Christianity. Countries in the Middle East like, Syria, Lebanon, where Christianity was born were the countries that survived. So Europe is no longer the leader of the religion due to the fact of the political fate of Christianity. Where there was loss of control of the rites of passage, and toleration of other Christians, of Jews, and of atheists.

References HYPERLINK "http://www.americanhumanist.com/who_we_are/about_humanism/Is_the_War_bet ween_Science_and_Religion_Over" http://www.americanhumanist.com/who_we_are/about_humanism/Is_the_War_bet ween_Science_and_Religion_Over 2) George Boeree , D. C. G. (2001). The philosophies and religions of the roman empire. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/romanempire.html HYPERLINK "http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism.html" http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism.html HYPERLINK "http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_illuminati_ 11a.htm" http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_illuminati_ 11a.htm HYPERLINK "http://bigsiteofhistory.com/science-and-religion-therenaissance" http://bigsiteofhistory.com/science-and-religion-therenaissance HYPERLINK "http://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/110/6renaissance.htm" http://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/110/6renaissance.htm

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