Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

Science, Religion, and Politics
must coexist,
or cease to exist

   Post 101. October 20, 2019 continued . . .

  The True Religion

   A Perennial Power Struggle

 In ancient tribal times, the truths of religion, politics, and science were blended into their myths and morals. Swami Rivan notes that in modern complex urban societies, those sources of knowledge have become more specialized and independent : “Science now answers most questions regarding the universe, how stuff works and anthropological origins - all questions once in the remit of religion. What science cannot give, and is now the sole function of religion, is meaning. Who am I? Why am I here and how should I behave?” Consequently, they some-times come into conflict regarding the applicable source of truth for various situations. Should science have the last word on abortion, or should religion rule? If it’s a religious issue, the next question is “which sect has authority in this case?”

Rivan then observes that authoritarian religions inherently create sectarian conflicts by their inflexible attitude toward their sacred truths, and their divine warrant to interpret and apply them. “The all too frequent problem of religion is when the belief system of one group impinges on, and clashes with the belief systems of others. Religions should refrain from arrogantly claiming a monopoly on truth and impudently imposing their values and beliefs onto others.”  Clashes between totalitarian religions and political theories have become more frequent in our over-populated global civilization. Christianity versus Islam, and Capitalism versus Socialism have been at the core of many, if not most, of our modern inter- and intra-national wars. But each group is loathe to “refrain” from their arrogant aggressive tactics, or to back-off from their current spheres of influence.

The Swami’s utopian dream seems to envision a world with Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA)3, a separate domain for each social function. “Less religion in public and political life would contribute greatly to social harmony”. Science would reveal practical facts of the material world to keep the machine of technology running. Politics would hand down impartial judicial orders to remove any monkey wrenches in the gears of justice. And Religion would tend to the emotional needs of the masses, who are at the mercy of both Natural and Cultural forces beyond their control. Unfortunately, the concept of sacred things & places & functions reserved for the gods, tends to segregate certain parts of Nature, from which mundane science and profane politics are banned. In that case, the lines of human authority are overlapped and dominated by divine authority. Hence, the dream of peaceful coexistence is violated from above.

Since they view themselves as having direct access to divine power, religions with strong authoritarian rules and mandatory taboo traditions are not compatible with modern mundane democratic attitudes toward equality among men. Egalitarian-ism is supported by evolutionary evidence that men are not lowered angels, but elevated apes, and by genetic evidence that hereditary kings are not inherently superior to commoners. But scriptural religions consider themselves to be the final arbiters of social structures as well as traditional ceremonies. So, Swami Rivan’s utopia is unlikely to be feasible, unless or until the belligerent religions reach either ecumenical accord4, or mutually assured destruction. 

End of Post 101

3. NOMA :
Non-overlapping Magisteria. Separate domains of teaching authority. Paleontologist S. J. Gould, proposed this solution to keep science and religion from stepping on each other’s toes. Scientist & Philosopher Descartes may have been motivated by the same reasoning when he suggested that the Soul was off-limits to science.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-overlapping_magisteria

4. Religious Accord :
“Christian missionaries should renounce all “deception and coercive means” of winning converts . . . and reject all forms of violence”
https://www.ncronline.org/news/evangelicals-vatican-reach-accord-proselytizing

Enformationism

Enformationism is not a religion. It is instead a scientific and philo-sophical worldview. But its ethical and technical implications are applicable to most human traditions and religions.
   Its BothAnd inclusivity makes it amenable to the core social and psycho-logical functions of man-made religions : “they are ancient ways of explaining the world and nature to ourselves, and frameworks or paradigms for responding to that belief system and ordering society.”     

As an adjunct to practical Science, it provides “What science cannot give, and is now the sole function of religion, is meaning. Who am I? Why am I here and how should I behave?” The meaning of life may be compared to a role-playing video game, in which each of us is an avatar of the Great Programmer. So my meaning is defined by how well I play my part.