Let us take all marriage laws off the books.
Either marriage is sacred rite or it is a legal contract.
If it is sacred rite, marriage should not have anything to do with the law.
If it is a legal contract, marriage should be open equally to everyone.
Let us nip the argument in the bud and just take all the laws off the books.
To replace them, we should enact laws where you can go to the courthouse and file who is your 'next of kin', even if they are not kin. If two 50 year old firefighters want to make each other as their 'next of kin' even if not in a romantic relationship, there should not be any reason that it should cost them $1500+.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Music of the Neopagan Movement: Idenity, Creativity and Commodity
Music of the Neopagan Movement:
Identity, Creativity and Commodity
I dance at the Sabbat when you dance out the Spell
I dance and sing that everyone be well
And when the dancing's over do not think that I am gone
To live is to Dance! So I dance on, and on!
~ from Lord of the Dance
An important part of constructing an unique identity for a new religious movement is creating ritual and music that is differentiated from other religions while not alienating new possible adherents. Music can be a strong factor in whether someone joins a religious movement. As a fairly new religious movement, Neopaganism is an ideal case study in how religions use music to define themselves. Defining what is Neopagan music is not always easy as Neopagan is a term that at times escapes definition itself. Issac Bonewits defines Neopaganism as, “polytheistic (or conditional monotheistic) nature religions that are based upon the older or Paleopagan religions; concentrating upon an attempt to retain the humanistic, ecological and creative aspects of these old belief systems while discarding their occasional brutal or repressive developments” (Bonewits). Sabina Magliocco refines this definition with stating Neopagan values: “a strong participatory ethic, resistance to certain forms of hierarchical esoterism and an emphasis on spontaneity, variation and creativity” (Magliocco, 101). The question that arises is how a religious movement can keep the spontaneity, variation and creativity going while creating a lasting community and religion, especially in regards to music? A brief overview of Neopagan music will help put the question in historical perspective, then the focus will examine identity and community building, creativity, and commodity in the movement.
At the beginning of religious movements, music and ritual are often borrowed from other traditions. Neopaganism is a good example of this, but by no means rare among new movements, for example, Rastafarians used Baptist and other Euro-Western church music in the first decade of the movement (Reckord, 238). In early Neopaganism, music was borrowed, often folk songs or popular songs with changes to the lyrics. Another popular source was and continues to be music from other religious traditions, sometimes with changed lyrics. This repurposed music and even a tradition of unique songs grew popular. Margot Adler recalls that during the growth of the movement, a new popular song or chant would spread throughout the U.S. quickly, achieving a type of universality to the movement. Today the movement has a smörgåsbord of musical offerings to choose from. There is the more traditional music that has a folk style, Neopagan music is also available in heavy metal, rock, pop, and jazzy flavors. Pagan rock is exploding, some of the offerings even reaching mainstream audiences. Andrea Nebel Haugen, a self-identified Pagan musician says, “It’s not about returning to the lifestyle people were living 1000 years ago. It’s about bringing the old wisdom back into our existing lives. Pagan traditions are living traditions, living wisdom that is just as important today as it was back then”. With the large variety of music available, there is certainly something that will appeal to any Neopagan, however there is a perceived lack of shared community identity with having no shared music.
While the large offerings available of Neopagan music “represents a real flowering of art and music within Paganism and Wicca”, on the other hand, it also in some ways shows a lack of community. Two groups can meet and have no songs or chants to help build common ground (Adler, 441). While many American Christians share the songs like Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art between denominations, today there is not a unifying song among Neopagans or even among the larger traditions. Many in the 1970s and 1980s were familiar with artists like Gwydion Pendderwen, but Neopaganism is currently suffering from a lack of a common voice. This can be a real problem in a world where there is a “growing importance of media for contemporary religion and spirituality” (Lynch, 482). Readily available music from the Internet can make it easier for seekers to choose to examine a new religious path, however having no common music or even rituals encompassing the Neopagan tradition can make it hard to find a place to start dialogue about the changes that being a more established tradition can mean. For a religious community to exist and thrive, it needs to define what is important to it regarding important items like music, ritual and pageantry. Helen Burger argues about changes in current Neopaganism, stating that there is a continuing trend of sharing of resources among Neopagans and that this is leading to a routinization of the movement. She further argues that much of this arises from the “need for legitimacy” (Berger, 49-52). The main criticism of this argument is that is hard to establish a set tradition, musical or otherwise, for such a diverse group. A tradition starts with a single person deciding how they want to go about doing a ritual or what music can be used in it, then teaching it to others and using it again and again. Berger argues that “creating a tradition, something to teach your children, involves a lessening of spontaneity” (Berger, 60). There is a pull from both directions, both towards an establishment of traditions and to keep spontaneity and creative juices flowing. Neopagans that are for the establishment of traditions and even set music and rituals to go with the traditions are often struggling with the dual demands of career and children, something not always present at the beginning of the movement. On the other hand, spontaneity, creativity and full group participation is what drew many Neopagans to the movement to begin with, disliking the codification of more mainstream religious practices.
Another practice under debate within the community is the commodification of practice. In most larger bookstores today, there is a large section on Neopaganism, including books, tarot cards and CDs. Rituals are being copyrighted and musicians that would have likely played for festivals for the joy of it are asking for large payments in order to attend. David Waldron wrote one of the best essays on this topic, Witchcraft for Sale! He states that,
“The development of a sense of community requires a loci or sense of focus around which a community identity is shared... [and that] the intrusion of the realm of commodity into the constructions of Witchcraft identity and community structure, has led to increasing conflicts between popularist consumer-driven models of Wtichcraft identity and Witchcraft configured as a symbolic expression of counter- modernity... in opposition to the dominant cultural matrix of capitalist and patriarchal modernity” (Waldron, 44).
The emphasis on making money has appear to change the approach some Neopagan musicians take, making them more likely to skirt closer to cultural norms and to the more popular expressions of Neopaganism. Neopagans have long seen themselves as a counterpoint to modern society, a return to something more natural and in tune with paleo-peoples. Music and ritual being seen as simply items for sale changes the dynamic of the community in ways that are only beginning to be felt.
Neopagans are in a pivotal point in their history, where they will make decisions on where they are going as a movement. Are they going to consolidate into set denominations, where each has a particular ritual and music library that they pull from or are they going to find another way to construct their community where they can keep the spontaneity and creativity that makes the movement appealing to so many? Music will continue to have a large role in the construction of identity in Neopagan communities, however common songs and chants that are freely shared might both keep the feel of the community that began as an alternative to the larger culture and establish a shared component to the tradition that will be helpful in teaching children and new members alike. Religious scholars are just beginning to focus on the impact on music on new movements and Neopaganism is at an engaging junction of change that does not present itself everyday. Christopher W. Chase states, “part of what Pagan music seeks to accomplish is the work of creating, reinforcing, and testifying to the "authenticity" and power of the religious tradition in question” (Chase, 4). Neopaganism is an area in the examination of music and its impact on religion that needs further study.
Bibliography
Adler, Margot. (1986). Drawing down the moon: witches, druids, goddess-worshippers and other pagans in America. New York: Penguin Books.
Berger, Helen A. (1995). The routinization of spontaneity. Sociology of Religion, 56(1), 49- 61.
Bonewits, Isaac. (1976). The first epistle of Isaac. The Druid Chronicles (evolved), 2(4).
Chase, Christopher W. (2009). Approaching the sacred grove: the Orphic impulse in pagan religious music. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
Lynch, Gordon. (2006). The role of popular music in the construction of alternative spiritual identities and ideologies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(4), 481- 488.
Magliocco, Sabina. (1996). Ritual is my chosen art form: the creation of ritual as folk art among contemporary pagans. In J.R. Lewis (Ed.), Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft (pp. 93-120). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Pendderwen, Gwydion (Performer). (2005). Lord of the dance. On The Music of Gwydion [Medium of recording: Record] San Fransico: Serpentine Music. (1975)
Pitzl-Waters, J. and J.Z.W. Hannah (n.d). Interview with Andrea Nebel Haugen of Nebelhexe and Hagalaz’ Runedance. Retrieved from http://www.wildhunt.org/pagan/hagalaz.html
Reckord, Verena. (1998). From burra drums to reggae ridims: the evolution of rasta music. In N.S. Murrell (Ed.), Chanting down Babylon: a Rastafari reader (pp. 231-252). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Waldron, David. (2005). Witchcraft for sale! : commodity vs. community in the neopagan movement. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 9(1), 32-48.
Identity, Creativity and Commodity
I dance at the Sabbat when you dance out the Spell
I dance and sing that everyone be well
And when the dancing's over do not think that I am gone
To live is to Dance! So I dance on, and on!
~ from Lord of the Dance
An important part of constructing an unique identity for a new religious movement is creating ritual and music that is differentiated from other religions while not alienating new possible adherents. Music can be a strong factor in whether someone joins a religious movement. As a fairly new religious movement, Neopaganism is an ideal case study in how religions use music to define themselves. Defining what is Neopagan music is not always easy as Neopagan is a term that at times escapes definition itself. Issac Bonewits defines Neopaganism as, “polytheistic (or conditional monotheistic) nature religions that are based upon the older or Paleopagan religions; concentrating upon an attempt to retain the humanistic, ecological and creative aspects of these old belief systems while discarding their occasional brutal or repressive developments” (Bonewits). Sabina Magliocco refines this definition with stating Neopagan values: “a strong participatory ethic, resistance to certain forms of hierarchical esoterism and an emphasis on spontaneity, variation and creativity” (Magliocco, 101). The question that arises is how a religious movement can keep the spontaneity, variation and creativity going while creating a lasting community and religion, especially in regards to music? A brief overview of Neopagan music will help put the question in historical perspective, then the focus will examine identity and community building, creativity, and commodity in the movement.
At the beginning of religious movements, music and ritual are often borrowed from other traditions. Neopaganism is a good example of this, but by no means rare among new movements, for example, Rastafarians used Baptist and other Euro-Western church music in the first decade of the movement (Reckord, 238). In early Neopaganism, music was borrowed, often folk songs or popular songs with changes to the lyrics. Another popular source was and continues to be music from other religious traditions, sometimes with changed lyrics. This repurposed music and even a tradition of unique songs grew popular. Margot Adler recalls that during the growth of the movement, a new popular song or chant would spread throughout the U.S. quickly, achieving a type of universality to the movement. Today the movement has a smörgåsbord of musical offerings to choose from. There is the more traditional music that has a folk style, Neopagan music is also available in heavy metal, rock, pop, and jazzy flavors. Pagan rock is exploding, some of the offerings even reaching mainstream audiences. Andrea Nebel Haugen, a self-identified Pagan musician says, “It’s not about returning to the lifestyle people were living 1000 years ago. It’s about bringing the old wisdom back into our existing lives. Pagan traditions are living traditions, living wisdom that is just as important today as it was back then”. With the large variety of music available, there is certainly something that will appeal to any Neopagan, however there is a perceived lack of shared community identity with having no shared music.
While the large offerings available of Neopagan music “represents a real flowering of art and music within Paganism and Wicca”, on the other hand, it also in some ways shows a lack of community. Two groups can meet and have no songs or chants to help build common ground (Adler, 441). While many American Christians share the songs like Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art between denominations, today there is not a unifying song among Neopagans or even among the larger traditions. Many in the 1970s and 1980s were familiar with artists like Gwydion Pendderwen, but Neopaganism is currently suffering from a lack of a common voice. This can be a real problem in a world where there is a “growing importance of media for contemporary religion and spirituality” (Lynch, 482). Readily available music from the Internet can make it easier for seekers to choose to examine a new religious path, however having no common music or even rituals encompassing the Neopagan tradition can make it hard to find a place to start dialogue about the changes that being a more established tradition can mean. For a religious community to exist and thrive, it needs to define what is important to it regarding important items like music, ritual and pageantry. Helen Burger argues about changes in current Neopaganism, stating that there is a continuing trend of sharing of resources among Neopagans and that this is leading to a routinization of the movement. She further argues that much of this arises from the “need for legitimacy” (Berger, 49-52). The main criticism of this argument is that is hard to establish a set tradition, musical or otherwise, for such a diverse group. A tradition starts with a single person deciding how they want to go about doing a ritual or what music can be used in it, then teaching it to others and using it again and again. Berger argues that “creating a tradition, something to teach your children, involves a lessening of spontaneity” (Berger, 60). There is a pull from both directions, both towards an establishment of traditions and to keep spontaneity and creative juices flowing. Neopagans that are for the establishment of traditions and even set music and rituals to go with the traditions are often struggling with the dual demands of career and children, something not always present at the beginning of the movement. On the other hand, spontaneity, creativity and full group participation is what drew many Neopagans to the movement to begin with, disliking the codification of more mainstream religious practices.
Another practice under debate within the community is the commodification of practice. In most larger bookstores today, there is a large section on Neopaganism, including books, tarot cards and CDs. Rituals are being copyrighted and musicians that would have likely played for festivals for the joy of it are asking for large payments in order to attend. David Waldron wrote one of the best essays on this topic, Witchcraft for Sale! He states that,
“The development of a sense of community requires a loci or sense of focus around which a community identity is shared... [and that] the intrusion of the realm of commodity into the constructions of Witchcraft identity and community structure, has led to increasing conflicts between popularist consumer-driven models of Wtichcraft identity and Witchcraft configured as a symbolic expression of counter- modernity... in opposition to the dominant cultural matrix of capitalist and patriarchal modernity” (Waldron, 44).
The emphasis on making money has appear to change the approach some Neopagan musicians take, making them more likely to skirt closer to cultural norms and to the more popular expressions of Neopaganism. Neopagans have long seen themselves as a counterpoint to modern society, a return to something more natural and in tune with paleo-peoples. Music and ritual being seen as simply items for sale changes the dynamic of the community in ways that are only beginning to be felt.
Neopagans are in a pivotal point in their history, where they will make decisions on where they are going as a movement. Are they going to consolidate into set denominations, where each has a particular ritual and music library that they pull from or are they going to find another way to construct their community where they can keep the spontaneity and creativity that makes the movement appealing to so many? Music will continue to have a large role in the construction of identity in Neopagan communities, however common songs and chants that are freely shared might both keep the feel of the community that began as an alternative to the larger culture and establish a shared component to the tradition that will be helpful in teaching children and new members alike. Religious scholars are just beginning to focus on the impact on music on new movements and Neopaganism is at an engaging junction of change that does not present itself everyday. Christopher W. Chase states, “part of what Pagan music seeks to accomplish is the work of creating, reinforcing, and testifying to the "authenticity" and power of the religious tradition in question” (Chase, 4). Neopaganism is an area in the examination of music and its impact on religion that needs further study.
Bibliography
Adler, Margot. (1986). Drawing down the moon: witches, druids, goddess-worshippers and other pagans in America. New York: Penguin Books.
Berger, Helen A. (1995). The routinization of spontaneity. Sociology of Religion, 56(1), 49- 61.
Bonewits, Isaac. (1976). The first epistle of Isaac. The Druid Chronicles (evolved), 2(4).
Chase, Christopher W. (2009). Approaching the sacred grove: the Orphic impulse in pagan religious music. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University.
Lynch, Gordon. (2006). The role of popular music in the construction of alternative spiritual identities and ideologies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(4), 481- 488.
Magliocco, Sabina. (1996). Ritual is my chosen art form: the creation of ritual as folk art among contemporary pagans. In J.R. Lewis (Ed.), Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft (pp. 93-120). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Pendderwen, Gwydion (Performer). (2005). Lord of the dance. On The Music of Gwydion [Medium of recording: Record] San Fransico: Serpentine Music. (1975)
Pitzl-Waters, J. and J.Z.W. Hannah (n.d). Interview with Andrea Nebel Haugen of Nebelhexe and Hagalaz’ Runedance. Retrieved from http://www.wildhunt.org/pagan/hagalaz.html
Reckord, Verena. (1998). From burra drums to reggae ridims: the evolution of rasta music. In N.S. Murrell (Ed.), Chanting down Babylon: a Rastafari reader (pp. 231-252). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Waldron, David. (2005). Witchcraft for sale! : commodity vs. community in the neopagan movement. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 9(1), 32-48.
Science and Religion Paper
Science and Religion
In a recent Diane Sawyer interview of Stephen Hawking, Hawking said, "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works (Heussner 2010)." Science replacing religion as the system humankind uses to make sense of the unknown is not a new thought. James Frazer thought that science was replacing magic and religion as the dominant theory of thought, but it might not even be the final resting point. He thought that science was the hope for the future, even saying “It is probably not too much to say that the hope of progress – moral and intellectual as well as material – in the future is bound up with the fortunes of science, and that every obstacle placed in the way of scientific discovery is a wrong to humanity (Frazer 2008, 105).” There are others that believe that science and religion can reconcile if both are aware that they cover different spheres of influence and leave the other's purview alone. Does religion have a place in a world that is increasing being explained by science? Annie Hardison-Moody states, “The match seems to be set: in one corner we have scientists who argue for science, reason, modernity, and progress and in the other, we have religious believers who see an intelligent design in creation and a divine plan for life. But is it really that simple? (Hardison-Moody 2010) “ If the answer was that simple, there would not be much a debate. To examine possible answers to the question of whether religion is being replaced with science, we will start at the beginning with the framing of religion and science in a religious evolution context, then examine reasons the debate rages on and conclude with possible alternatives in the theories of how the matter should be approached.
The basis of some of the science versus religion framework is based in the idea of religious evolution. Thinkers like James Frazer and William Robertson Smith thought it was natural that human thought should progress though stages like biological evolution, from magic and animism, to religion to science (Strenski 2006, 128-134 & 143-150). There were several problems with their theories. One problem with their theories is they assumed in evolution that each change was for the better without evidence to back up the theory. Scholars of evolution, especially early ones, tend to paint a mythic version of humankind's progress as a type of hero tale (Landau 1991, x). Evolution does not always imply progress, regression is possible. Many scholars agree that the religious evolutionary model is based in thoughts of ethnocentrism, racism and the assumption that current Western thought is the best. While many scholars in the humanities have abandoned these theories there is a current still present in discussions of religion and science that science is the logical replacement of religion and just as we dismiss the superstitions of yesteryear, so soon will we dismiss religion for the more rational realm of science. What is forgotten by many when debating the topic is that science itself is based on theories building their foundations on other theories and so forth, and that at times a entire house of theories can come tumbling down based on one of the basic theories being wrong. The problem with most discussions of religion today is that the people speaking the loudest are extremists on both sides of the fence. Both religious fundamentalists and atheistic pro-progress scientists are who are most frequently sought out when a debate rears up. The more moderate heads who can imagine a world where religion and science both play a role in everyday lives are dismissed by a public more interested in a fiery debate than focusing on real issues.
Why is there such a large debate? One possible answer is that a large portion of humankind, even those that are very pro-science, seems ill at ease with the answers that science is giving. William B. Drees addresses how science affects people's self-image:
If we are nothing but neurons, or selfish genes, or molecules in motion, or atoms, what about important notions such as free will, identity, rationality and morality? The 'scientific image' of reality seems to conflict with our common-sense understanding of the world and ourselves, our 'manifest image'. Given this threat, a function of 'religion and science' might to be resolve discomfort about the scientific image of ourselves (Drees 2010, 30).
Most people, on some level, want to think of themselves as special and unique, a snowflake among snowflakes perhaps, but still like no other. Another contributing factor to the debate between science and religion is both sides' more prominent speakers. Denis R. Alexander suggests, “... Dawkins' campaign of atheism may have simulated the rise of creationism; if you keep telling people who believe in God that 'evolution equals atheism', it should be not be surprising that they become attracted to rosier creationist alternatives (Alexander 2008, 18).” The simple argument between religious creationists and atheist evolutionists is easy to put in a sound bite or write a passionate book about, but it is harder to discuss someone who thinks that the Bible and science hold truths and how the two reconcile.
Modern academics are trying out alternative, but more complex theories than a simple science versus religion model. One single model might not be the answer, but a useful one is the model of integrated complementarity. It argues that to explain the convoluted nature of human existence can be explained in slices of a cube. The cube is really one entity, but the human mind has difficulty absorbing the entirety at once, so it compartmentalizes different explanatory levels, scientific, ethical, aesthetic and religious. The largest problem with this method is that some put each section in isolation like Stephan J. Gould's Non-Overlapping Magisteria. However, with the overlap of these fields, there is movement between these levels. Just like the morality of a piece of art can be argued, so can religion and science branch into each other answering parts of the same question, like how we involved and why it happened (Alexander 2008, 18-21). Just like religion is better with explaining some things, so is science, a factor often forgotten in the modern world. Most people would not look in their religious text for explanations of cell division or wave theory, it makes sense they should not look for their faith in their biology or physics textbook.
Keith Ward says, “we should not expect one key to open every lock. We should not expect any specific type of scientific explanation to explain everything. So to say that 'science explains everything' is just the hypostatisation of an abstraction. It is not so much that it is false as that it lacks meaning (Ward 2010).” Science does a fine job of trying to explain the natural world and the phenomena found in it, but just because someone can explain how the human body functions does not make them an expert on speculating on if we have souls. However, science and religion should not be simply put neatly into separate boxes. Rather a true dialogue is needed. Drees argues, “... our primary purpose would then be to challenge nonsense and pursue truth, rather than to find a place for religion in a world seen through the sciences (Drees 2010, 6).” Pursuing truth seems like a more noble enterprise than endless debates on whether science and religion can exist together or if science is bound to replace religion as our primary system of thought. Religion and science both should have a place in our world and our goal should be to make it possible without champions of either field either being attacked or feeling like there is a struggle for the minds and souls of men.
Biography
William B. Drees http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5241R.pdf
Alexander, Denis R.. The Edge of Reason? Science and Religion in Modern Society. Alex Bentley. New York: Continuum International, 2008.
Frazer, James. From the “Golden Bough”.Thinking About Religion: A Reader. 2 ed. Ivan Strenski. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2008.
Hardison-Moody, Annie. "Religion and Science: Busting Assumptions ." August 18, 2010.http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/science/3104/religion_and_science%3A_busting_assumptions .
Heussner, Ki Mae. "Stephen Hawking on Religion: 'Science Will Win'." June 7, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Technology/stephen-hawking-religion-science-win/story?id=10830164&page=1 .
Landau, Misia. Narratives of Human Evolution. New Haven: Yale Unversity Press, 1991.
Strenski, Ivan. Thinking About Religion: An Historical Introduction to Theories of Religion. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Ward, Keith. "The parts science cannot reach." July 16, 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/16/science-religion-philosophy
In a recent Diane Sawyer interview of Stephen Hawking, Hawking said, "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works (Heussner 2010)." Science replacing religion as the system humankind uses to make sense of the unknown is not a new thought. James Frazer thought that science was replacing magic and religion as the dominant theory of thought, but it might not even be the final resting point. He thought that science was the hope for the future, even saying “It is probably not too much to say that the hope of progress – moral and intellectual as well as material – in the future is bound up with the fortunes of science, and that every obstacle placed in the way of scientific discovery is a wrong to humanity (Frazer 2008, 105).” There are others that believe that science and religion can reconcile if both are aware that they cover different spheres of influence and leave the other's purview alone. Does religion have a place in a world that is increasing being explained by science? Annie Hardison-Moody states, “The match seems to be set: in one corner we have scientists who argue for science, reason, modernity, and progress and in the other, we have religious believers who see an intelligent design in creation and a divine plan for life. But is it really that simple? (Hardison-Moody 2010) “ If the answer was that simple, there would not be much a debate. To examine possible answers to the question of whether religion is being replaced with science, we will start at the beginning with the framing of religion and science in a religious evolution context, then examine reasons the debate rages on and conclude with possible alternatives in the theories of how the matter should be approached.
The basis of some of the science versus religion framework is based in the idea of religious evolution. Thinkers like James Frazer and William Robertson Smith thought it was natural that human thought should progress though stages like biological evolution, from magic and animism, to religion to science (Strenski 2006, 128-134 & 143-150). There were several problems with their theories. One problem with their theories is they assumed in evolution that each change was for the better without evidence to back up the theory. Scholars of evolution, especially early ones, tend to paint a mythic version of humankind's progress as a type of hero tale (Landau 1991, x). Evolution does not always imply progress, regression is possible. Many scholars agree that the religious evolutionary model is based in thoughts of ethnocentrism, racism and the assumption that current Western thought is the best. While many scholars in the humanities have abandoned these theories there is a current still present in discussions of religion and science that science is the logical replacement of religion and just as we dismiss the superstitions of yesteryear, so soon will we dismiss religion for the more rational realm of science. What is forgotten by many when debating the topic is that science itself is based on theories building their foundations on other theories and so forth, and that at times a entire house of theories can come tumbling down based on one of the basic theories being wrong. The problem with most discussions of religion today is that the people speaking the loudest are extremists on both sides of the fence. Both religious fundamentalists and atheistic pro-progress scientists are who are most frequently sought out when a debate rears up. The more moderate heads who can imagine a world where religion and science both play a role in everyday lives are dismissed by a public more interested in a fiery debate than focusing on real issues.
Why is there such a large debate? One possible answer is that a large portion of humankind, even those that are very pro-science, seems ill at ease with the answers that science is giving. William B. Drees addresses how science affects people's self-image:
If we are nothing but neurons, or selfish genes, or molecules in motion, or atoms, what about important notions such as free will, identity, rationality and morality? The 'scientific image' of reality seems to conflict with our common-sense understanding of the world and ourselves, our 'manifest image'. Given this threat, a function of 'religion and science' might to be resolve discomfort about the scientific image of ourselves (Drees 2010, 30).
Most people, on some level, want to think of themselves as special and unique, a snowflake among snowflakes perhaps, but still like no other. Another contributing factor to the debate between science and religion is both sides' more prominent speakers. Denis R. Alexander suggests, “... Dawkins' campaign of atheism may have simulated the rise of creationism; if you keep telling people who believe in God that 'evolution equals atheism', it should be not be surprising that they become attracted to rosier creationist alternatives (Alexander 2008, 18).” The simple argument between religious creationists and atheist evolutionists is easy to put in a sound bite or write a passionate book about, but it is harder to discuss someone who thinks that the Bible and science hold truths and how the two reconcile.
Modern academics are trying out alternative, but more complex theories than a simple science versus religion model. One single model might not be the answer, but a useful one is the model of integrated complementarity. It argues that to explain the convoluted nature of human existence can be explained in slices of a cube. The cube is really one entity, but the human mind has difficulty absorbing the entirety at once, so it compartmentalizes different explanatory levels, scientific, ethical, aesthetic and religious. The largest problem with this method is that some put each section in isolation like Stephan J. Gould's Non-Overlapping Magisteria. However, with the overlap of these fields, there is movement between these levels. Just like the morality of a piece of art can be argued, so can religion and science branch into each other answering parts of the same question, like how we involved and why it happened (Alexander 2008, 18-21). Just like religion is better with explaining some things, so is science, a factor often forgotten in the modern world. Most people would not look in their religious text for explanations of cell division or wave theory, it makes sense they should not look for their faith in their biology or physics textbook.
Keith Ward says, “we should not expect one key to open every lock. We should not expect any specific type of scientific explanation to explain everything. So to say that 'science explains everything' is just the hypostatisation of an abstraction. It is not so much that it is false as that it lacks meaning (Ward 2010).” Science does a fine job of trying to explain the natural world and the phenomena found in it, but just because someone can explain how the human body functions does not make them an expert on speculating on if we have souls. However, science and religion should not be simply put neatly into separate boxes. Rather a true dialogue is needed. Drees argues, “... our primary purpose would then be to challenge nonsense and pursue truth, rather than to find a place for religion in a world seen through the sciences (Drees 2010, 6).” Pursuing truth seems like a more noble enterprise than endless debates on whether science and religion can exist together or if science is bound to replace religion as our primary system of thought. Religion and science both should have a place in our world and our goal should be to make it possible without champions of either field either being attacked or feeling like there is a struggle for the minds and souls of men.
Biography
William B. Drees http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5241R.pdf
Alexander, Denis R.. The Edge of Reason? Science and Religion in Modern Society. Alex Bentley. New York: Continuum International, 2008.
Frazer, James. From the “Golden Bough”.Thinking About Religion: A Reader. 2 ed. Ivan Strenski. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2008.
Hardison-Moody, Annie. "Religion and Science: Busting Assumptions ." August 18, 2010.http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/science/3104/religion_and_science%3A_busting_assumptions .
Heussner, Ki Mae. "Stephen Hawking on Religion: 'Science Will Win'." June 7, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Technology/stephen-hawking-religion-science-win/story?id=10830164&page=1 .
Landau, Misia. Narratives of Human Evolution. New Haven: Yale Unversity Press, 1991.
Strenski, Ivan. Thinking About Religion: An Historical Introduction to Theories of Religion. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Ward, Keith. "The parts science cannot reach." July 16, 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/16/science-religion-philosophy
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