Science and Religon

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How can scientest be religous? There are many scientist out there who are devout catholics or christians or whatever faith based religon. I find this very contradicting. How can u base your life on faith in a superior entity when your whole life is about discovering the truth through facts and experimentation.

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hashi92,

Fist of all, just incase someone is not aware, I am an atheist and somewhat militant at that.

Having said that, I have no issue with scientists being religious, indeed some of my best friends are. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I don't even see the conflict. Thos scientist friends of mine however do not confuse the two domains, science and religion and they surely not let religious authority undermine or rule their scientific domain. This seems to be a behaviour associated with fundamental and fanaticists religious inclination.

I know of a surgeon, who when he needs perform a very critical interventation, brings a little stone with him to the hospital. It is a form of superstition, he knows, but it is of very little import as a device that may help him give the confidence neccesary top operate with steady fingers. I know of other writers that describle similar superstitious behaviour in forex trader (see "Fooled by Randomness" by Nicholas Nassim Taleb for an example). It seems to be a human frailty and may even have an evolutionary value in allowing to make a decision when one would stay forever indecisive otherwise.

I must point out that it is the moment when religion interferes with science of societal rules that the danger of religion exists. Outside of that, I reckon peple can believe whatever they find helpful in coping with life and its vicissitudes. It's no skin off my mose. Just don't ever let anyone go beyond that, dictating science methodology or human behaviour to others
based on their personal beliefs (by definition irrational, imo). Let it guide them and change their own behaviour and be an example to us all. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I doubt that, since their no 1 Model seems to be quite iniquitous, but don't ram it down my throat or try to obscure the boundary between the rational and the irrational (as with ID) by puporting something to be what it is not (in the case of ID, science).