{"id":321,"date":"2014-08-07T16:44:55","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T16:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/meyer\/?page_id=321"},"modified":"2021-02-01T16:40:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T16:40:29","slug":"eruditio-et-religio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/meyer\/thoughts\/eruditio-et-religio\/","title":{"rendered":"eruditio et religio"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Eruditio et religio<\/strong>” is Duke University\u2019s motto. I have written some personal comments on the subject of learning and religion, partly for fun, and partly because I often get questions on this subject. Some assume that since I am a scientist, I must not be religious (untrue); others wonder if religion informs my choice of career (yes); still others are curious based on the knowledge that my parents taught religion. An additional reason for addressing \u201ceruditio et religio<\/i>\u201d explicitly is the possibility that the discussion of science in the context of society has been decreasing, and that this decrease contributes to American ambivalence towards science (an idea discussed here: http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/Promoting-the-Universe\/65959\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Background<\/span><\/p>\n

I was raised largely in the Church of the Brethren. I currently attend the Durham Friends (Quaker) Meeting. My thinking is also informed by reading, especially Annie Dillard and Loren Eiseley on religion and nature, and Madeleine L\u2019Engle and Khalil Gibran on religion in general.<\/p>\n

Why do I believe in God? First: I am not out to convince anyone else; I answer this only to give perspective on how I think of religion. Second: it is a belief, not knowledge. So, I can\u2019t give a fact-based answer1<\/sup>. In fact, I can\u2019t say why at all, despite having thought about it a fair amount. But that is not the point of this piece. Rather, my goal here is to give some of my perspectives on the relationships between science and religion.<\/p>\n

Science and religion<\/span><\/p>\n

While I can\u2019t say exactly why I believe, I do want to emphasize that new scientific discoveries are not at all incompatible with my (mysterious!) belief. Here is a quote that captures my thoughts on the effects of scientific discoveries on mystery:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live on an island of what we know, surrounded by a coast of mystery. The bigger the island grows, the further the coastline goes.\u201d Dotty Murray, as told by Andy Murray<\/p>\n

I start with this point because clearly, for some people, scientific discoveries or understanding are incompatible with their faith. A current example is evolution. As a scientist (although not one who studies evolution directly), I think that evolution is easily the best scientific explanation we have for the history and diversity of life. I have two responses to the controversy over evolution, one based on the question of literal interpretations of the Bible, and the other based on the broader issue of what questions science and religion can and cannot answer.<\/p>\n

A major argument against evolution is that it does not fit with a literal reading of the Bible\u2019s Creation story. I do not read the Bible literally2<\/sup> because I think it is impossible to do so. We nearly always read translations, and having learned Spanish, I know that some concepts are very hard to translate perfectly from one language to another. In fact, I sometimes misunderstand other native speakers of English! Worse, both language and culture change over time; if Shakespeare is hard at 400 years, how much harder is a 2000 year-old text? Language, simply, is not clear enough to permit literalism3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

My second response to the evolution vs creationism4<\/sup> debate is that science and religion address fundamentally different kinds of questions, often with fundamentally different approaches. Science asks questions about how the world works, and can only answer them insofar as they involve testable ideas. Religion asks how the world should be, and the answer cannot be reached by testing5<\/sup>. For example, as an environmental scientist, I can test whether exposure to chemical X will cause detectable DNA damage. Let\u2019s imagine that the answer is \u201cyes.\u201d This scientific answer does not make that chemical \u201cbad,\u201d or its use by people \u201cwrong\u201d\u2014rather, that information can inform our societal debate about whether its use in a given context has greater benefit than cost. And that question has a religious\/moral dimension6<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

This distinction between the realms of science and religion also helps with the difficult (from a religious perspective) question of \u201cWhy does God let bad things happen7<\/sup>?\u201d We have the ability to make our own choices, which must mean that God lets people do evil things. I think that God wants us to try to do good8<\/sup>–but the doing of good would be meaningless unless it were indeed a choice.<\/p>\n

If God does not interfere with our free will, what about the workings of the natural world\u2014including evolution? Again I think that God does not normally9<\/sup> intervene in how the world works10<\/sup>. If we choose to act in way that results in nature\u2019s hurting us; or choose to remain ignorant of the workings of nature, resulting in harm to ourselves; or if we choose to damage the natural world itself; should God intervene? No\u2014again these are our choices. What about simple random acts of nature\u2014lightning strikes, or earthquakes? To me, they are part of our world\u2014free and inherently full of beauty and tragedy11<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

While what I have written so far highlights differences between religion and science, there are some similarities and relationships as well.<\/p>\n

A first similarity is the importance of doubt for both. I think I should constantly re-examine my religious beliefs12<\/sup>, although I will rarely if ever answer any in a permanent or dogmatic fashion (beyond rather vague expressions, e.g. \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself\u201d)13<\/sup>. Similarly, in science, any idea should be tested and challenged, and most research creates as many questions as it answers. As my brother put it, doubt and mystery are necessary, not inimical, in both science and religion. Also similar is the fact that institutions have a tendency to get in the way of such questioning in both science and religion.<\/p>\n

A second relationship, at least for me, is that my religious beliefs inform my choice of career as well as how I do my job, which makes me feel good about the job.14<\/sup> This relates as well to Duke\u2019s goal of generating \u201cKnowledge in the Service of Society,\u201d and we are far from the first to think along these lines:<\/p>\n

“I maintain that the cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest motive for scientific research.” Einstein<\/p>\n

\u201cThe great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.\u201d Herbert Spencer<\/p>\n

Further, just as religion informs my wish to make a difference with my life, it recently occurred to me that science may tell us something about the practicality of doing so. \u201cWhat difference can one person make?\u201d can be answered from a moral perspective (\u201cThe Star Thrower\u201d by Loren Eiseley is a nice take), but science may offer a pragmatic answer as well. I think of it as the \u201cbutterfly effect\u201d of our actions. We may not know ahead of time that specific actions will have important (in terms of practical effects) outcomes\u2014but we also don\u2019t know that they won\u2019t! It strikes me as both humbling and empowering to realize this: our best efforts may have no detectable effect\u2026and seemingly small actions may be what triggers the avalanche.<\/p>\n

A final relationship is that there is uncertainty in both science and religion. This is related to the first, but distinct I think. Scientific uncertainty can sometimes be quantified, and there are whole fields of science devoted to decision-making in the face of scientific uncertainty. We also often make moral and religious choices in the absence of absolute certainty, and for me at least, faith is certainly a journey, not a destination.<\/p>\n

The End (or is it?)<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning and religion are helpful to me in different, yet related and complementary ways, so I\u2019m happy with Duke\u2019s choice of motto15<\/sup>. And thinking about them both is fun. I welcome comments (by email\u2014too lazy to manage a blog or anything similar!), although I can\u2019t promise a fast response.<\/p>\n

Footnotes<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Dave wanted me to define God at this point. Luckily my brother rescued me, saying that God is ineffable, and adding some interesting thoughts about that: \u201cIf your starting point is God is ultimately beyond the scope of full human understanding (though not beyond true human experience), what do you do with that?  The Hindu tradition seems to be, let\u2019s then address infinite aspects of God, each of which is true in some way, and false were it taken as a complete representation.  Versus a Judaic tradition of saying, never utter the name of God, any attempt at representation is blasphemous.  Both I think are in ways beautiful and elegant and each has its pitfalls.\u201d<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>Andy Murray argues that this is a misuse of the word \u201cliteral,\u201d which should in fact involve an understanding of the language and culture at the time that the text was written. He may be right in principle (see discussion here: http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Plain_meaning_rule<\/a>), but I am using the term in what seems to me to be the common practice. In any case we agree on the point that such texts need to be interpreted, not \u201csimply\u201d read.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup>Dad makes the point that it is interesting to look at what parts of the Bible different religions take literally. I was brought up in the pacifist Church of the Brethren to believe that ALL killing is wrong (an amusing take on this: http:\/\/www.theonion.com\/articles\/god-angrily-clarifies-dont-kill-rule,222\/<\/a>); Catholics believe that the Holy Communion is the literal Body and Blood of Christ; Jews avoid pork (based as I understand it at least in part on Leviticus 11:7-8).<\/p>\n

4<\/sup>Or intelligent design, which is equally untestable as a hypothesis and therefore outside of the realm of science.<\/p>\n

5<\/sup>My brother pushed me on this one, arguing that religion does<\/i> often explains how the world is –only it does so through analogous pathways, via metaphor. Further, our senses and tools for communication, even when used for science, rely heavily on metaphor. I agree with that, but I don\u2019t think it affects my point about evolution.<\/p>\n

6<\/sup>This perspective is explored in more depth by Nobel Prize winner Eric Cornell in his essay \u201cWhat was God Thinking<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n

7<\/sup>My thinking on this has been informed by this quote from Rabbi Harold Kushner:<\/p>\n

“The … theological conclusion I came to is that God could have been all-powerful at the beginning, but he chose to designate two areas of life off-limits to his power,” Kushner says. “He would not arbitrarily interfere with laws of nature. And secondly, God would not take away our freedom to choose between good and evil.”<\/p>\n

As well as by the essay \u201cGod and Haiti<\/a> \u201d by David Boulton.<\/p>\n

8<\/sup>A wonderful related quote from George Bernard Shaw:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

9<\/sup>I\u2019m on the fence on miracles\u2014I\u2019ve not witnessed one in the strict sense, but if there are interventions, they must be rare (\u201cmiracles\u201d). Tangentially, if God in fact wants us to believe in God\u2026what happens to the people who witness miracles? How is it faith, if you know for a fact that there is a force that carries out miracles? I prefer Dad\u2019s perspective on miracles (see footnote 11), also captured to some extent buy this quote:<\/p>\n

“Days pass and the years vanish and we walk sightless among miracles . . . . How filled with awe is this place and we did not know it.”<\/p>\n

Rachel Naomi Remen in My Grandfather’s Blessings<\/span><\/p>\n

10<\/sup>Did God \u201cset up the rules?\u201d For example, kick-start the universe after creating the basic laws of physics, etc, setting the stage for the eventual creation of earth and evolution of life? Maybe\u2014I\u2019m not worried about it. Maybe that is compatible with a less \u201cliteralist\u201d interpretation of religious creation stories. Maybe science will one day discover what preceded the Big Bang\u2014if so, this simply once again extends the coastline of mystery.<\/p>\n

11<\/sup>What about animals\u2014especially \u201chigher\u201d animals–are they supposed to do good? My first reaction is \u201cthat\u2019s ridiculous\u201d\u2014but if not, why not? Because they are fully programmed, acting only according to instinct? I don\u2019t think that is entirely true of all animals. And, of course, the converse is that we humans are, to some extent, affected by instinct. Does this absolve us of all responsibility? Of course not, but perhaps there is some level of mitigation? I haven\u2019t figured this one out yet!<\/p>\n

12<\/sup>I would be comfortable making many of these same points with respect to thinking about moral beliefs instead of religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

13<\/sup>Of course, the lack of absolute answers does not excuse a failure to make choices based on my beliefs.<\/p>\n

14<\/sup>Here is a short piece that Dad and I wrote on the relationship Quakerism, nature, and miracles (\u201cQuakers and Nature <\/a>\u201d), and another that Mom wrote on the value of a connection to nature (\u201cSanity Insurance<\/a>\u201d), that further explore this relationship.<\/p>\n

15<\/sup>A little background on the history of \u201ceruditio et religio<\/i>\u201d as a motto at Duke:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/library.duke.edu\/uarchives\/history\/histnotes\/insignia.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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