What religion misses about science
Recently, I've come to realize a key distinction between science and religion: there are groups of people who believe in the existence of God, and when these individuals form arguments around this belief, they often miss an important point. When debating with others who believe in God, the discussions often revolve around their faith and worldview, dividing people into two categories—those who believe in God and those who don't. However, there is a third category that isn't always considered: people who don't hold any beliefs at all.
What often happens is that the world gets split into two broad camps—those who believe in God and those who don't. Within the believers, there are different interpretations of God, depending on religious traditions like Christianity, Islam, or Judaism. Even if their specific beliefs differ, they all share the common thread of belief in a higher power. On the other hand, atheists, who reject the existence of God, often use science to explain their perspective. In this way, atheism becomes a belief system too—a belief in the non-existence of God.
This dichotomy creates tension between these two groups. Believers often view science as a threat to their belief system, while atheists see religion as weak when used in debates. Yet, what both sides sometimes overlook is that scientists do not generally approach their work with the goal of disproving God; instead, they aim to understand the universe and how it operates. People interpret these scientific discoveries in various ways, with atheists often using them to argue against the existence of God.
Religious individuals may then perceive science as an adversary, thinking it is used to undermine their beliefs. This can lead to skepticism toward scientific discoveries, such as the Big Bang theory. For example, while many religious people argue that God created the universe, scientists may explain the Big Bang as not needing a creator. There have been theories in quantum mechanics that suggest how this might be possible, and modern physics has also reshaped our understanding of time. Previously, time was seen as a constant, something we moved through. But with Einstein’s theory of relativity, time became intertwined with space, forming the concept of space-time. This means that not only did space begin with the Big Bang, but time also began—there was no "before" because time itself didn't exist.
Religious people often struggle with this concept, asking what existed before the Big Bang, which, from a physics standpoint, doesn’t make sense because time did not exist before then. This back-and-forth between science and religion can lead to frustration, with one side arguing from faith and the other from empirical facts. Scientists rely on rigorous testing and evidence, forming conclusions based on facts, not beliefs or personal experiences. For them, the Big Bang marks the beginning of time, and asking what came before it is not a meaningful question.
On the other hand, religious individuals may feel threatened by such scientific discoveries because atheists use them to challenge faith. As a result, some religious people reject science outright, especially theories that contradict their sacred texts, such as evolution or the Big Bang. Instead of adapting or re-examining their beliefs in light of these discoveries, they may dismiss scientific findings without fully understanding how they were proven.
In science, a theory is rigorously tested, and if it’s disproven even once, it’s discarded. The reason theories like Einstein’s relativity endure is that they have consistently been proven true. The day someone can disprove it, it will be discarded—just like any other scientific theory.