<p>A few days ago, I was going through a website where I saw an article named ‘<span class="italic">Science and religion are not compatible</span>. The argument that scientific inquiry and rational thought are essentially incompatible with religious and spiritual belief is contentious.</p>.<p>Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. Many prominent scientists including Robert Boyle, J C Maxwell and Isaac Newton believed in the existence of a supreme deity. Even Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution goes against creationists, said “I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.”</p>.<p>While blind faith and denying science is indeed detrimental, having faith rationally and pragmatically is the most sensible way. And there are a few practical reasons presented by philosophers and thinkers to believe in the existence of a higher power.</p>.<p>A famous argument in favour of theism is Blaise Pascal’s wager, which advocates belief in God. In <span class="italic">Pensées</span>, his unfinished work on religion, Pascal argued that belief in religion is rational. If God does not exist, the agnostic loses little by believing in him and gains correspondingly little by not believing. But if God does exist, the agnostic gains eternal life by believing in him and loses an infinite good by not believing.</p>.<p>Another argument against atheism presented by William James in his essay, <span class="italic">The Will to Believe</span>, says: "A rule of thinking which would absolutely prevent me from acknowledging certain kinds of truth if those kinds of truth were really there, would be an irrational rule." Even Immanuel Kant held that a person cannot rationally act without believing that moral actions can successfully achieve the “highest good” and such actions require belief in a higher power.</p>.<p>Ultimately, the choice to believe or not is personal. But one must admit that all belief systems should be respected. Extremist views on both sides cause contempt. Atheists calling theists naive and believers saying atheists are evil must end, because we need to pave the way for a society that believes in universal respect and harmony in humankind over anything else.</p>
<p>A few days ago, I was going through a website where I saw an article named ‘<span class="italic">Science and religion are not compatible</span>. The argument that scientific inquiry and rational thought are essentially incompatible with religious and spiritual belief is contentious.</p>.<p>Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. Many prominent scientists including Robert Boyle, J C Maxwell and Isaac Newton believed in the existence of a supreme deity. Even Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution goes against creationists, said “I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.”</p>.<p>While blind faith and denying science is indeed detrimental, having faith rationally and pragmatically is the most sensible way. And there are a few practical reasons presented by philosophers and thinkers to believe in the existence of a higher power.</p>.<p>A famous argument in favour of theism is Blaise Pascal’s wager, which advocates belief in God. In <span class="italic">Pensées</span>, his unfinished work on religion, Pascal argued that belief in religion is rational. If God does not exist, the agnostic loses little by believing in him and gains correspondingly little by not believing. But if God does exist, the agnostic gains eternal life by believing in him and loses an infinite good by not believing.</p>.<p>Another argument against atheism presented by William James in his essay, <span class="italic">The Will to Believe</span>, says: "A rule of thinking which would absolutely prevent me from acknowledging certain kinds of truth if those kinds of truth were really there, would be an irrational rule." Even Immanuel Kant held that a person cannot rationally act without believing that moral actions can successfully achieve the “highest good” and such actions require belief in a higher power.</p>.<p>Ultimately, the choice to believe or not is personal. But one must admit that all belief systems should be respected. Extremist views on both sides cause contempt. Atheists calling theists naive and believers saying atheists are evil must end, because we need to pave the way for a society that believes in universal respect and harmony in humankind over anything else.</p>