Religion and science Alfred North whitehead summary

The writer expresses his views on religion and science on four sections. At first, he says we need to understand the relation between religion and science. As people think, it is not so much related to each other. Neither they are closely related nor are they enemies to each other. They are totally different fields of studies. But many people believe that religion and science are straight opposites. These two subjects seem to be at open and frank disagreement to each other. Here, his opinion is that they are not so much related to each other and both of them can develop in their own ways. When we look back to the history, both religion and science have come through continual development. There were many misconceptions on religion and the same in science. In both field, we find the additions, deletion and modifications of ideas. 

In the second section, he says that a 'clash of doctrines is not a disaster but an opportunity'. Here he says that when these matters came into discussion, both religion and science are highlighted and both of them have got their own logic. Both of them gained new ideas to establish their foundations. Such clash of ideas made it clear that religion is the contemplation of the spiritual inner thought but science is a concerned with the external physical phenomena. It is best to allow both of them to flourish and develop if they could. He gives some examples of developments both in religion and science and he explains the geocentric and heliocentric world views. 

In the third section, he says that religion is at the defense, rather weak defense but science is at the attack. Both are free to present their logics but one seems to have overruling the other very soon. Religion will not get its old power until it can justify its ideas like science. 

New Nepal summary Vision

If religion takes help of scientific ideas, it will be good for religion. But the problem is that most of the religious ideas cannot be justified. For example in the middle age, people thought that heaven is in the sky and hell is underground and volcanoes are the fire from the hell. But such beliefs are not justified by science and religion became weak. 

In the last section, the writer says that there are some causes for the fading of religion in the public. Religion is just the reaction of human beings on the search for god and his worship, which is beyond reach. Some people say that religion is valuable for the ordering of life and its right conduct. This idea is also fading since there is morality to guide us at right conduct. Religion is something real but not yet realized, something final good but not reached, it is a search for god but a hopeless result. In fact, human life is a flash of occasional enjoyments lighting up a bagatelle of transient experience. The power of god is the worship he inspires in such a transient life. In the end, he says that the death of religion comes with the repression of the high hope in it.