SCIENCE AND RELIGION;CONFLICT AND CONFORMITY

PROF WAQAR HUSSAIN

Science begins from scepticism and its modus operandi is based on observation,study and experimentation. It deals with the physical world and has inductive views while religion has no room for scepticism rather total submission to beliefs based on intuition or revelation and brings about inter-relation between physical and meta-physical worlds. The latter embraces all aspects of life in toto and has deductive view. Religion has integrated, while science, has analytic view. Ipso facto, the ways of science and religion are contrary and conflicting to each other.

 In the 18^th century, man moved with confidence that science will resolve every complex problem in a simplified manner. Science revolutionized the world astonishingly and made heavy advancement in various fields but all its achievements proved a nine days wonder due to one reason or other. Either it is the field of micro-biology or cosmology, science met with early successes but ultimate state of mysteries. This saying seems to be true that reason is blind without the light of apocalypse, In the West, scientific progress brought under a thumb the adversaries of nature and provided physical comforts but psychological turmoil. Hence, we find in the western society increasing incidents of suicide and practice of Hippie ism. New ideas of existentialism, romanticism and meaninglessness have originated as rebellion against the organized society synthesized in the cradle of science. Cobden has said “you have no security for a man who has no religious principle”. In the East, religion is in practice but scientific progress is in a poor state. Consequently, this area is in the grip of worst type of social, economic and political crisis. Einstein said “without science religion is lame; without religion, science is blind.” The veracity of the statement is quite vivid from the above mentioned plight of the West and the East. In fact, religion and science are not different things but are complementary part of an entity. But due to squint eye, we are perceiving them as a different entities, At the threshold of the 21^st century, we have to find a point of harmony which may blend them into a complete picture but it will be only possible if we get rid of our jaundiced eye.