The Relationship Between Religion and Science in Europe - Essay Example

? To what extent do recent scientific discoveries in Europe reflect rise and fall in religious observant Introduction: Religion and Europe have been in conflict in Europe over the years. Right from the establishment of Christendom to the popularity of secularism, religious beliefs and science have clashed on different grounds. Many new theories and discoveries of science do not support religion as an ultimate resort. This attitude has led to serious ideological clashes between the two sects that have led the common man into a never ending dilemma. In medieval Europe religious persecutions based on discriminating scientific discoveries were common. The most famous being the fate of Galileo who fought and died for his discovery of truth. However these warring sects have also been in compromises later. Both of these sides sometimes supplementing their views upon a common interest. However it should also be understood that religion faced its major opposition not from science but from other areas including politics. Therefore highlighting the conflicts between sciences may be an act of others other than the scientific community who has vested interests. Science cannot be placed as a culprit which started the decline in religion. Religious reformations in the beginning of modern Europe and critical as well as anti authoritarian nature of the renaissance humanism definitely shattered the unity of intellectual thoughts. These developments were vital to the advancement of science. Moreover the discovery of new world and that the earth is round , along with the invention of fire arms and astrology, improved mechanical clocks, development of ship building and new navigational routes etc helped in the opening up of new intellectual perspectives and methods of discoveries that completely depended upon rationalism rather than religion. Clashing with religious beliefs, new claims and discoveries were made based on mechanical terms. The world was explained in a mechanical way rather than in a spiritual way. Moreover scientific objectivity was towards complementing secularism rather than religious beliefs. It focused on how to improve the material life rather than spiritual. Europe witnessed a separation from the spiritual world which was regarded as a fundamental shift. Scientific discoveries enabled to think that the humans were capable of controlling their environment. This radical change of thoughts paved the way for industrialization in the early nineteenth century. It is true that these developments made by science were against some religious principles and thinking but it has also to be understood that the face of religion was somewhat maligned by some elements of the clergy which had political and selfish interests. They used religion to defend their selfish motives thereby creating an impression that religion was always against science or rational thinking (Early Modern Europe. 2008). An exaggerated feeling that always science and religion were at odds was propagated during the scientific revolution. The epicenter of such thoughts were the same culprits who were purely anti religious and others who strongly wished to see the declining influence of religion in Europe. This was especially true with the astronomical discoveries that shifted the focus away from the established Ptolemaic system to a heliocentric system. Really the institutionalized clergy was too much worried upon such developments. At the same time some who took a positive stance advocated that science should not be rejected because of the fact that it truly unfolds the admirable wisdom of God. This concept was developed by John Calvin. Calvin who was a protestant supported scientific theories to get popularized and believed. Therefore Christianity also saw a division on the basis of acceptance of scientific theories and discoveries during that period. In spite of division in Christianity that into Protestants and Catholics, science scaled new heights. Protestants were happy to support scientific discoveries and scientists as it would disturb the Catholics who did not want to move away from the traditional biblical views. But some scientists in order to escape the criticisms and wrath from the church developed theories and connected discoveries with God directly. A best example was Walter Charlton who was a protestant atomic scientist stated that the creation and arrangement of the atom can be connected to no other cause but to the infinite wisdom and power of God himself. His ideas do not separate science from God but rather supplements it (Mir.2010). History has always reckoned the conflict between religion and science. Historians have commonly taken several approaches to describe the conflict between these two. Some have emphasized the conflict like Galileo’s conflict with the church and the never ending debate between creationists and evolutionists and others have stated that science and religion are the same. Malicious attempts were frequently made to prove that Christian and Jewish theologies, the major religions of Europe have always differed when it came to science and its discoveries. The boundaries between science and religion are neither free nor impermeable. The two domains overlap each other too often. In all modern histories, interference with science in the supposed interest of religion has resulted in evils for both religion as well as science. On the other hand all scientific investigation which is untrammeled has been seen as good to both of these spheres. Science and religion always stand in an area of perpetual conflict (Osler. 1997). The true side reveals that religion was a major contributor towards science in Europe particularly Christianity. It had an important impact on every step of the road to modern science. Christianity in Europe was exclusively responsible for the preservation of literacy and learning after the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe. Early practitioners of Christianity in Europe were of the opinion that they could investigate the natural world for secondary causes rather than put everything to fate. They followed this perspective along with the faith in the law abiding creator God. The early modern scientists of Europe including Copernicus were of the opinion that their discoveries are supported by their faith. They saw studying the creation of God as a form of worship. Copernicus thought that his heliocentric model was to be proposed because it seemed to be more elegant. With some exceptions like Galileo and other anti religious writers like Andrew Dickson White and John William Draper, conflicts with science was not an issue as it has been exaggerated by anti religionists. Religion in the beginning of the modern era of Europe truly supported scientific discoveries with some exceptions which were of individual interests. Development of science in fact supplemented the rise of religion because many religious beliefs and concepts were open for rational thought and discussions. Another important highlight in this area is that religion faced its opposition more from the field of politics rather than science (Drees.1998). . Modern science emerged in Europe first. This growth was attributable due to the support given to science by religion especially Christianity. The relation between religion and science in Europe is characterized by individual conflicts only. These conflicts are not long lasting many scientists have made their discoveries and revelations based on their faith. Continued conflicts between religion and Christianity are a myth that was created by anti religionists and anti Christians in early modern Europe. The truth is that religion has been benefited from science and science was supplemented by religion. If religion was dead against science, science would not have been developed up to this extent in modern Europe. In this context it can be clearly said if there was a rise in religion in Europe, it was because of the contributions of science. Science has allowed liberty to view spiritual aspects in a rational way. In the same way dynamic development of science would have been impossible without the active participation of religion in its affairs (Brooke 2005). In the history of early Europe, religious evangelism advocated for greater spiritualism and education for the young people. During the same time the rise of scientific enquiry provided new scientific methods of learning that were ground in empirical observation and the material world. Religious reformations were happening in the modern Europe very rapidly. Many earlier religious beliefs were denounced by the institutionalized religious establishments based on scientific principles. For example, religious campaigns were undertaken to denounce magic, feigned sainthood as well as witchcraft. The modern age saw science marginalizing and undermining the marginal beliefs and reducing the spiritual influence of the clergy. The period of time from 1500 -1700 AD is regarded as a new era in the scientific history of Europe. New perceptions of science were developed during this period. Knowledge was clearly defined both in terms of its method of acquisition and its purpose. Thus science and knowledge became more pervasive within the European psyche. The new scientific revelations necessitated the need for a careful balance between God and science. Moreover split in Christianity resulting in growth of protestant groups who supported science helped in the rapid acceptance of scientific theories all across Europe. Emphasizing humanity, government action as well as patronage of nobles in the post renaissance society had a profound impact on science and scientists. The conflicts that took place in Victorian England also can be related to a conflict between anti religious as well as people having some other ideological interests and the established religion. They used science to cover up their activities so that the entire blame of conflict would be shouldered upon by the scientific community. There were sermons criticizing the arrogance of scientists as well as articles decrying the ignorant behavior of the clergy. Debates were frequent in the British society with regard to religion and science. The public made sides to support either group. Books were written exclusively about the conflict having prefaces or forewords form noted clergies and scientists who supported their own views strongly. The church took a harsh stand to depict those who made forbidden remarks against them as enemies of God (Turner, 1978). Startling discoveries made in science had a positive impact on religion over the years. Particularly in the case of the Big Bang theory which stated that the universe was created as a result of an explosion and it is expanding. This theory was accepted by Christianity and Judaism the two major religions of Europe as they thought that it did not contract the scriptures which depicted the creation of the world. In fact the pope himself agreed that it is the same to what mentioned in the Genesis about creation. However some Christian fundamentalists groups do not believe in this theory as it does not agree word by word as it is given in the Bible. With regard to Europe which is Christian dominated, the big bang theory did not make happy anti religionists because it did not create conflict between religion and science in fact al religions practicing in Europe excluding Hinduism and Buddhism accepted the theory (Rytko 2003). Charles Darwin’s evolution theory had some impact on religion in Europe particularly in Britain. This theory was hailed by anti religionists and politicians having different ideologies. They thought that at last they have found a lethal weapon to wipe out religion from Europe. However their expectations were rejected by future generations which saw flaws in Darwin’s theory of evolution. This theory temporarily undermined religious beliefs and played a major role in encouraging agnosticism in Europe. The naturalistic structure of the theory opposed the theological basis of Christianity as well as other monolithic religions. During the period of 1830 to 1875, there was an evolution in the British scientific society based on Darwin’s theory. During that time there were strong links between science and organized religion in the higher education field in Britain. The following years saw the links getting weak because of the influence of the Darwin’s theory. This was the only gain made by the opponents of religion. After the theory gained popularity, the concept of creationism was used for debate in all parts of Europe. Some had the view that it was dangerous to teach creationism to children. Some liberalists opinioned that science as a matter of fact should coexist with religion and religion should allow its coexistence. These view points were constantly debated during those periods with very little outcomes (Hall,Hallgrimsson&Strikeberger. 2008). Of late many attempts were made in Europe to destroy the relationship between religion and science. To be true attempts from scientific intellectuals with backing from anti religionists and politicians who are in fear of power and influence were made to destroy religion particularly Christianity. The European Union for nuclear research or CERN is in the forefront in this regard. Scientific research is been undertaken to discover the Higgs particle or the Gods particle that would help understand mass led particles which does not have a mass. The Hadron collider experiment to investigate the formation of the universe after the big bang developed by the CERN. This experiment if proved successful would further increase tensions between religion and science not only in Europe but all over the globe. Of late such experiments are conducted by scientists to defer the teachings of religion and to prove the superiority of science above all. However the authenticity of such experiments as well as its outcome is still not proved (Bulletin of atomic scientists. 1955). Conclusion: The relationship between religion and science in Europe has been the focus of the demarcation problem. Science and religion rely on different methodologies. Religion relies on revelation and faith whereas science is based on methods and experiments. Some argue that both have different dimensions and are in a continued state of conflicts while some others are of the view point that both are two sides of the same coin. Religion and science in Europe coexisted for a number of centuries. In short the development of science was due to the influence of religion. However even now efforts are on to destabilize these two ways of thoughts. Europe has always witnessed changes and has accepted it if it is correct. It has a dynamic and thinking society who rationally as well as spiritually makes their own decisions. Even the influence of political parties as well as scientists having political interests and greed of power could not change their set of mind. That is the reason why religion still exists in Europe even though its influence in the region has been wounded by its detractors. Reference: Bulletin of atomic scientists. (1955). Chicago: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science. Vol11. No10. Brooke.J.H. (2005). Religious values & the rise of science in Europe. Istambul: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) Drees.W.B. (1998). Religion, Science and Naturalism . London: Cambridge university press Early Modern Europe. (2008). [online]. Available from:http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Co-Fa/Early-Modern-Europe.html [Accessed 3 March 2011] Hall.B.K, Hallgrimmson.B&Strikeberger.M.W. (2008). Strickberger's evolution: the integration of genes, organisms and populations. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning Mir.M. (2010). The effect of political religious and social factors. [online]. Available from:http://socyberty.com/history/the-effect-of-political-religious-and-social-factors-on-the-work-of-scientists-in-the-sixteenth-and-seventeenth-centuries/ [Accessed 3 March 2011] Osler.M.J. (1997). MIXING METAPHORS: SCIENCE AND RELIGION OR NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Rytko.M.M. (2003). Religion in a changing Europe: between pluralism and fundamentalism : selected problems.Lublin: Maria Curie-Sklodowska University Press. Turner.F.M (1978). The Victorian conflict between science and religion. [online]. Available from:http://www.jstor.org/pss/231040 [Accessed 3 March 2011] Read More