Religion, Science, and the Future of the Two

At left is what Bertrand Russell said perhaps a century ago.

My take on this may be slightly different, in that I call religion our prescientific understanding of the universe.  Human beings with our newly formed big brains were called upon to crave an explanation for natural phenomena: disease, weather, astronomy, etc., and we wanted our fear of death somehow assuaged.  Absent science, religion was our only choice.

One hundred years hence, however, is there any reason to have any confidence that “religion … will fade away?” As we look at Israel vs. Hamas and the banning of abortion here in the United States at the hands of the evangelical Christians, do we see any progress along the lines that Russell predicted?

What we do see is a civilization careening at the edge, largely because of its failure to adopt science.  When it comes to climate change mitigation alone, it looks like we’re going to cook our home planet.

If I could only be a believer, my life would be so much easier. But I can’t accept that channel, and neither should you.