The Religious-Science Impassse

Recently arriving in Bangalore India for a six-month stay, I’ve enjoyed the daily reading of The Speaking Tree column; prompting me to return to my own thoughts on religion and being.

Coming from a mixed-religion household, my mother was a Protestant, (of English, Scottish and Cherokee heritage), and my father was a Jew (of an Irish Catholic father, and a Russian Jewish mother), i’m not quite sure if that makes me -- religiously speaking -- more confused, or less.  

The Swami Kryanada previously (aug 31) talked about science and religion: the former providing advances in science, creature comforts, and knowledge: we now know the world is not flat; that Earth is not the center of the Universe; that there are untold galaxies, while the latter promising the path to enlightenment. Those that believe in science see truth as what can be proven, while those that believe in religion see truth as that which has been divinely written.  Both are often inflexible.     

Just as there is conflicting belief of whether we are physical beings (searching for spirituality to enter heaven) or spiritual beings (in a physical experience), so too is science pitted against religion.

Christian leaders refuse to acknowledge that man has walked the Earth for 10s of millions of years, rather than thousands, in direct conflict with the bible, while scientists refuse to acknowledge that even though Darwin has shown us evolution, they have not found the “missing link” to disprove intelligent.

Science is devoid of hope; religion is devoid of open mindedness and change.  Science seeks truth, while religion claims to be truth.  

Religious belief requires submission to an idea of something larger than oneself. However, all too often religious leaders exploit that belief; while followers use it as a crutch to escape responsibility for their own actions, and the subsequent outcomes in their lives.  If things go well, God is great; if they don’t, well you didn’t believe hard enough, or live righteous enough.

Interestingly, most of the religions around the globe are rooted in similar themes, similar stories, virtues and teachings. Yet extremists can’t seem to get beyond my God is better than your God; my way is the only way.  Whether its the Taliban beheading people in Afghanistan, Hindu extremists roughing up students in Mangalore, or Christians trying to impose their will through politics, nothing on Earth has pitted man against man, or brought more death and despair to the human race than conflicting religious ideologies.
 

So until we can heed the words of Lao Tzu, who suggested that we “live our religion,  rather than worrying about how to spread it or convincing others that we’re right,” we’ll never find the path to enlightenment that all religions claim to provide.