Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Science and Religion” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Science and Religion

When the theory of the Origin of Species was propounded by Charles Darwin, it led to a revolution in the lives of the Europeans who believed in the Church dogma that man was a special creation of God and had descended from Adam and Eve. Darvin’s discovery (based on extensive study of fossils and bones of a very old era) states that man evolved from a species of the ape through a natural process of selection. The theory blew up the myth about man that he was suffering because his ancestors had eaten the forbidden apple of knowledge.

Science led to a rational approach to thinking. Man suffered because of his own follies and his own miscalculations. The theory was overstretched to conclude that there was really no punishment like hell and no reward like heaven. The Church and the priests had been mistaken and that the Bible was a mere parable.

A type of godlessness descended into man’s world. Mammon became the new god. Material prosperity brought the rewards of physical comfort in the present life itself. Theories of Science were to be encouraged. The Royal Society of England was established with this purpose and inventors like Netton, Faraday and numerous other scientists, doctors and sociologists changed the thinking of man.

The impact of science is on the rational processes. It drives out superstitions and the feeling of resignation to fate. The will of man can conquer anything and achieve the summum bonum (the chief good) of existence. Marxism decried religion as “opium of the people. Religion helped sobbing maudlin to forget their ill luck for a while. Many scientists believe that God never existed and that the universe is governed by laws, all of which have not been understood. Some scientists like Jean Paul Sartre said that man must find a solution to his wretched state of affairs.

The conflict between the Church and science, today, has turned full circle. The discoveries of our scientists, physicians and technologists have not reduced, the varieties and intensities of human miseries. In fact, they have added to them. New diseases like AIDS have shaken mankind, the specter of war also haunts mankind and a nuclear holocaust threatens all of us. Loneliness and mental anguish as well as a sense of futility in all human endeavours have led to increasing number of suicides and mental derangements. The more advanced the civilisation is in the West, the more is the number of problems, while man’s stomach and pocket may be full, his heart is devoid of feelings. Peace eludes him.

Kierkegaard said, if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him and St.

Augustine, the Christian Saint, put it thus:  Thou hest made us for thee O Lord

And our hearts are restless till they rest in thee.” Many rationalist organisations have come up, which offer psychological solutions to man’s predicament. Freud’s forays into the subconscious mind unleashed a new wave of thinking and medical cure in psychiatry. Neither God nor prayer but psychoanalysis and treatment were deemed the answers to all mental ills.

Thus, the conflict between science and religion is a long-standing one. When Copernicus stated that the earth revolved round the sun, he contradicted the Bible and was pronounced a heretic. Many scientists including Galileo were ex-communicated by the Church for their discoveries. But today we know that the earth revolves around the Sun and not vice versa. We no longer lament with Matthew Arnold in Dover Beach:

The sea of faith was once too at the full and lay like a great girdle furled around earth’s shores. But now, I only hear its long withdrawing melancholy roar!

Many spiritual and religious organizations have sprung up all over the world. While they do not resist the wonderful discoveries of science, they put God in the first place. Man is spirit besides body and mind. And he must have a balance between the spirit and his physical self if he wishes to be contented and happy. A synthesis is necessary between the spiritual gains and the material ones. In fact, science is now seen as the handmaid of religion. Through its advanced discoveries. science can alleviate human sufferings, remove starvation and hunger and put an end to diseases and wants. When the body has all its basic needs, man can turn to God within. Thus, Vivekananda, India’s religious ambassador to the West, praised the scientific temper of the West but warned that it must be balanced with spiritual awakening. The Eastern religions and Western dedication to work could help to create a new world sans confusion, materialism, ways, bloodshed, terrorism and mental unrest. India could play a leading role in creating this new world order.

Science and religion are not two extremities. Rather, they are two sides of the same coin. They can enrich each other. Newton once said.  I feel like a child sitting on the shores of the vast sea of knowledge and playing with a few pebbles.” Indeed, he felt that all his endeavours were very small as compared to extremity. Unless man’s pride in his worldly achievements is removed, he cannot achieve more. In fact, pride makes a scientist a madman. The conquest of greed, lust and anger are as commendable as the wonders of science.