What does science have to say about atheism? [Spirituality & Religion]
https://news.yahoo.com/physicist-marcelo-gleiser-science-does-not-kill-god-090100672.html
61-69, M
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LeopoldBloom · M
It says nothing one way or the other. Stephen J. Gould proposed "non-overlapping magisteria" to describe the realms of science and religion. Science does not prove nor disprove religion, and religion does not lead to scientific discoveries.
However, many (though not all) scientists are atheists, because for thousands of years, religion provided the answers to many basic questions. But starting several centuries ago, mostly Christian and to some degree Muslim scientists began making rigorous observations of the world and testing them under controlled conditions. This led to an explosion of scientific knowledge, where previously teleological explanations ("God wanted it that way") were replaced with mechanistic ones ("this is how it works"). So "God" was not needed to explain everything anymore, and religion became correspondingly less important.
Also, the Protestant Reformation broke the power of the Catholic Church in Europe, allowing people to develop a personal rather than an institutional relationship with God. Ironically, this allowed people to have [i]no[/i] relationship with God. The Muslim world has not had a similar reformation, which is why the practice of Islam is generally much stronger in those countries than Christianity is in Europe and the U.S.
However, many (though not all) scientists are atheists, because for thousands of years, religion provided the answers to many basic questions. But starting several centuries ago, mostly Christian and to some degree Muslim scientists began making rigorous observations of the world and testing them under controlled conditions. This led to an explosion of scientific knowledge, where previously teleological explanations ("God wanted it that way") were replaced with mechanistic ones ("this is how it works"). So "God" was not needed to explain everything anymore, and religion became correspondingly less important.
Also, the Protestant Reformation broke the power of the Catholic Church in Europe, allowing people to develop a personal rather than an institutional relationship with God. Ironically, this allowed people to have [i]no[/i] relationship with God. The Muslim world has not had a similar reformation, which is why the practice of Islam is generally much stronger in those countries than Christianity is in Europe and the U.S.
