The debate has raged for decades in America, bringing people to levels of frustration uncommon to their demeanor. Wars have been fought, and millions of lives have been lost to uphold ideologies and crush opposition. In modern America, the doubt and objectivity of science has clashed with the open faith and trust of the Christian religion; in more fundamentalist nations and religions, the contrast is even more severe. But what if that same skepticism was applied to interpreting religious texts and the doctrine of religion?
From a believer’s standpoint, one must accept that a small degree of doubt must be involved in any situation. Risk of naiveté and overly willful acceptance could lead to complete amiability and de facto ignorance. The attitude of pessimism and doubt in the face of religion could ultimately lead to a stronger foundation in faith, or transform a non-believer into a more accepting and faithful being in regards to religion.
From a scientific standpoint, evidence and demonstration are required to foster belief in a claim. The common reaction to such criteria when applied to religion is one of impossibility. It is unclear among even scholars whether the two disciplines can be reconciled.
Feynman and Merging of Distinct Disciplines
This theory of pessimism, or more appropriately today, skepticism, has been addressed by numerous scholars, most notably physics professor Richard Feynman, who took a departure from his scientific writings in 1956 to compose "The Relations of Science and Religion," an abstract essay in which he explores the odd marriage between science and religions.
According to Feynman's biography (cited from Nobel Lectures, Physics 1963-1970, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972), he is listed as having done undergraduate and graduate study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton, respectively, as well as having been a professor at several other top tier institutions. His obituary, written by James Gleick and published in The New York Times on 17 Feb 1988 lists a host of lifetime accomplishments. He assisted in the Manhattan project, which secretly configured an atomic bomb during World War II and later investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger crash. In addition to work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing and introducing the concept of nanotechnology.
Feynman approaches the relationship as a scientist, who, by his training, is at first curious and skeptical. He notes throughout his work that religious peoples are generally trained oppositely, to believe with no basis of proof or apparent fact. He uses numerous references to show that while the two schools differ in their attitudes, there is still much that they draw from each other to better themselves, be it spiritually or factually.
An example of this seemingly inappropriate practice could involve a hypothetical church attendee...an adherent to any religion, say. This devotee, by his confirmation and religious training, has had it imprinted upon him to never doubt or test his God. One could argue, that, by drifting through life with this attitude, he may never be enlightened or really accept an individual faith, only accepting the faith that others tell him to accept. Were this person to come across doubt in religion for any reason, he could deal with it basically one of three ways: denounce faith, and become an atheist; disregard doubt, and ignore it due to his own faith, or research the impending matter at hand. This last option is at the heart of what Feynman is contemplating in regards to the marriage of science and religion.
Thoughtful Research Vice Blind Acceptance
By applying the scrutiny and careful consideration of the sciences, the hypothetical religious adherent could turn his doubts into a cornerstone of his own faith were he to discover some validating piece of evidence.
In "The Relation of Science and Religion" originally a speech given by Feynman at the Caltech YMCA Lunch Forum on 2 May 1956 with the transcript later published in Engineering and Science magazine, the Nobel Prize recipient analyzes the possibility of a supreme being from the auspices of a scientist. “There is the close relation of biological man to the animals, and of one form of life to another. Man is a latecomer in a vast evolving drama; can the rest be but a scaffolding for his creation?”
Feynman doesn't automatically advocate belief in a higher power, however. It's no surprise that he upholds the scientific method uncompromisingly. To read more about the physicist's contemplations, see "Feynman, Religion, and Skepticism."
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