What if Science explained away Religion?

What's going to happen when Science explains away religion? Whether that explanation is an affirmation of Religion or grounds for denial thereof is of little consequence in this thread. I am merely asking what impact or implication you think it would have? This should remain as a hypothetical, and there will nay be any tolerance for the debate of whether said Religions exist.

I will wait for the thread to pan out with a few others' ideas being produced before I provide my own.

-dillon

reply to post by Namaste

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Irrationality of human mind will never cease, regardless of how logically explained by science. And why should it? We are not machines, we are humans. In irrationality, there might be a hidden reserve..

To answer your question, I think that the result of science explaining the religion away, would have unexpected results

-v

[edit on 8-11-2009 by v01i0]

if science explained religions away...

1) people would kill themselves. they cant fathom having purpose that isnt kissing the @ss of god
2) they would kill/rape/steal from other people (their reasoning- whats the point of being good if you dont get an eternal reward?)
3) people would say that the science is just the work of the devil
4) people would claim the science is wrong because god says so.
5) lots of partying. lots of wanton sex

thats pretty much what would happen in my opinion.

reply to post by Namaste

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It will never happen. Even if science comes up with proof that life was created by natural means people will find a way to explain why science is wrong with religion and show you their scripture to prove it.

And I am Catholic

reply to post by Namaste

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There is a huge misconception that religion and science are at odds. When in fact most people that pursue science long for a greater understanding and the answer to the greatest question of all time "why are we here?". Even large figureheads of science like Isaac Newton, Galileo, and even Darwin were not without belief in the supernatural. When Darwin came up with the theory of evolution it was not his intent to create such a mass following of anti-religious people.

It is funny that some people who take the word of science over religion believe in other dimensions and parallel universes, when in fact isn't that what Heaven & Hell are supposed to be in a sense? Two worlds that co exist with our own, worlds we can't see or live in until death? In my opinion it will never happen, when one goes deeper into science especially Quantum Physics the weirder things become and in my opinion back up religion in certain aspects.

Science IS a religion.

There are many key elements of our universe science can't explain.

Yet people follow it anyways, with the same devotion as Christians would Christ, even though they cannot explain many things about him and the Bible.

Science can't prove that it's right about everything, as a religion can't, yet people still have "faith" in science.

Science IS a religion, it makes people happy inside thinking they know everything, just like a religion!

reply to post by asmall89

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I never said Science and Religion were at odds. Like I said, this is a hypothetical and should stray from debate. You never even answered the OP. Let's answer what you think would happen. It's a hypothetical, regardless of your belief in it happening, if it did, what would the implications be?

As an agnostic I do not think science will ever explain away religion.

No matter what aliens creating humans or mankind becoming gods of their own in some sense, it will never explain away the possibility of an omnipotent godly essence.

That being said science can explain away organized religion like Christianity and islam. Which will cause some to panic and go crazy while others will accept it and perhaps move onto a more open minded idea of religion comprising believing in a ethereal god.

reply to post by Namaste

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I did answer the question I said "in my opinion it will never happen" and I suggested my reasoning for this was because people don't realize that they are not at odds. My answer was not Science vs Religion but suggesting that instead of one being at odds with the other, they in actuality could reinforce each other. Thus supporting my statement at the end of the post "in my opinion it will never happen".

I can't answer the question what would happen if science explained away religion because I don't think it will ever happen.

[edit on 8-11-2009 by asmall89]

reply to post by Namaste

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As others have already said, science, generally speaking, is a belief system. If science were to explain away religion, it would merely be one belief system replacing another. Science is already, in terms of monetary expediture, the more dominant belief system. Perhaps the replacement has already taken place, the message simply hasn't, as yet, been filtered down to the minions.

reply to post by asmall89

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perhaps science and religion is explaining the same thing in a different way ? it is our human nature that tends to interpret things differently , strange that i could not sleep for the past 3 hours (is 2.30 am in dubai now) and i was watching the movie "contact" (jodie foster and matthew mcconaughey). the show itself was debating the same issue. a person who is bound by its own school of thoughts cannot agree to another person who is bound by a different school of thoughts but the fact is both are pursuing the same thing -truth and aren't we all ??

we tend to kill the messenger instead of understanding the message, dont we ? be it science or religious

reply to post by affeyee

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Exactly thats what I was trying to say more or less. I think it is ironic in certain ways because Quantum Physics talks about alternate dimensions and in a way so does Religion so in a sense they could be the same thing, just different ways of explaining them.

what if the surface level interpretation of religion is not the actual meaning of union with the divine?

what if the average person does not know how to read the Bible? or other religious material in the proper manner?

what if the actual meaning behind the myths and symbolism within the stories of religions is VERY scientific?

what if the metaphors and allegories are actually hints as to an actual mental and physiological transformation that when fully analyzed.. is completely scientifically provable?

and science then acts as a pedestal upon which religion's true glory can stand upon and shine?

is that an option you're willing to scoff at or disregard before you commit to a conflict between the two?

i guess if you choose not to consider that option, then people will just have to start manifesting divine abilities and save you from a hellish situations before you are convinced.......

ah the stagnancy of close mindedness....

this discussion will be moot in the next few years......

-

I've put a lot of thought into this a few months ago. I think the only way science can effectively 'kill' religion is by proving exactly what happens to you when you die. It's already proven that we can create life from 'scratch', death is the next task.

To the labs! I can't wait.

reply to post by Namaste

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Religion is just a system of beliefs. Even if people didn't believe in God they would still have a system of beliefs and therefore a religion. It would just be a religion that didn't believe in God.

But people would still have their supersitions and what not. Or, even if people only did the completely logical thing that science tell us to, that's still a religion. It's still a system of beliefs that the scientific method is correct and that's what we'd live by.

Either way though, you'd still be living by a system of beliefs and therefore have a religion. It would just be different, yet the same.

It's a system of beliefs because the scientific method cannot verify itself. There is no scientific way to prove that science always leads to the correct or best answer. In fact science has gotten it wrong many times.

So, in other words, we have science that gives us the answer, but what science can't do is verify itself to prove that it has given the right answer. Only more evidence can do that.

So, even if you were only going to live completely according to science, you still have to take it on faith that that is the best way to live because the scientific method cannot prove that the scientific method is the best method and a new better one may come around at any time to find out the truth.



[edit on 8-11-2009 by tinfoilman]

Common sense and logic hasnt yet explained away religion, i doubt science will sway many religious people.
After all science is just another belief system

reply to post by sicklecell

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Maybe, maybe not. While science is science and maybe is a belief system or is not depending on how you look at it, what is the religious belief system is believing that we'd be better off getting rid of all religions and just using science.

That in itself is actually what would create the new religion because we'd have to believe we'd be better off that way. Maybe we would, but we'd be dumb to think we know for sure. That would be the actual religion. Believing that getting rid of all the rest and replacing them with science is the "correct" thing to do.

Now to do that, takes a bit of faith in my opinion lol.

[edit on 9-11-2009 by tinfoilman]

Can never happen.

The only way to disprove or prove religion is to die. Only then will we know the truth.

The only thing to do is go about your life as you see fit, enjoy the ride and then on your death bed realize that you will finally figure out if you was right or not.

If you believe in a God don't go around trying to convert those who don't want to be converted.

If you don't believe don't go around thinking you are smarter then everyone else.

reply to post by Namaste

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What do you mean about the term religion?


From wiki about religion.

Various religions include worships of various gods and goddess.

I am sure you didn't mean that.

I think what you really mean is spirituality. Then it really comes around and around. Belief that what you are seeing are really there and so on and on.

Then philosophy gets involved.

Science explaining away spirituality (or actually philosophy)? You're in for a LOOOOONG road, my buddy.

[edit on 9-11-2009 by Deaf Alien]

It already has, my friend. The news hasn't percolated into some people's brains, that's all.

* * *

If anyone did these things, it would be religious people--or rather, the most fanatical believers among them. Mentally healthy people don't need a god to keep them in line.

It is a mistake to believe that morality is derived from religion. Morality is the elaboration of human social and parental instincts; we need not fear that it will disappear as religion continues to wither. It is religion that needs morality to support it, not the other way round.

* * *

Oh, but science and religion are at odds. History shows that one drives out the other. There are no exceptions to this.

The fact that Newton and Galileo were believers is no surprise; in those times, everybody had religion. Darwin, as is well known, became an atheist in later life.

However, their personal beliefs are not relevant: what is relevant is that their discoveries made contemporary doctrines such as geocentricism and creationism untenable, forcing religion to retreat from those positions. It is true that, in Newton's case, Copernicus had already done all the hard work, but the point still holds.

The dream of reconciliation between science and religion will always be only that: a dream, whose well-meaning dreamers are eternally doomed to disappointment.

As to the parallels you discern between religious and scientific concepts, be aware that all concepts emerge from the human brain, so the existence of morphological similarities among concepts are not just likely but inevitable. I appreciate that such an argument is a bit sophisticated for Above Top Secret, but consider it anyway.

* * *

It often looks that way to people who do not understand it. People who do, however, can easily see how silly such statements are. Sadly, the only ways to learn the difference are to study philosophy or actually do some science. I suggest you two give one or the other a try.