cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30986611
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
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Some people seem to like using “science” as a counter religion. Instead of being smug about believing in a god, they’re just smug about how much they don’t believe in one.
It does nothing but divide people more and I’ve honestly started questioning whether it’s all good faith or some kind of psy-op to divide the left a bit more.
It's not a psy-op, this has been going on for as long as I can remember. If anything, it's regaining the traction it once had before the atheist community imploded with sexism and large taking heads fell out of favor.
But it is a counter to religion at the most fundamental level: The scientific method sets out to find answers and the religious have answers and don't care to investigate. One is based on confidence (belief based on previous evidence) and the other in faith (belief without evidence). And I could go on. The two are irreconcilable unless you're willing to suspend your beliefs when dealing with one or the other, which is precisely what religious scientists do.
It is not a “counter to religion”. Religion and science are both ways to find explanations for things, but they’re not a binary nor even on the same spectrum. They both have aspects to them with no parallel from the other. Science doesn’t define morality and religion doesn’t engineer buildings for example.
I said “counter religion” because people treat it like a stand in for religion. Science fundamentally doesn’t declare truth. Scientific theories can and have been wrong, yet some people act as though it’s unquestionable and anything not scientifically proven isn’t true. Those people also tend to really identify with believing they’re right, almost exactly like any smug religious person.
I do mean that science is a direct counter to religion and without having to treat it as a religion. But if anyone is treating science as a religion they don't fundamentally understand science. The only way science can replace religion afaik is in the feeling of awe and wonder that it inspires. We have studies of that.
But it does, and it goes beyond that: it makes predictions. That's the real power of science. Without having an accurate model of reality you can't make an informed prediction, which means the majority of its proposals must be grounded in fundamental truths about the world. Also, don't forget science is integrative unlike religion, meaning a lot of scientific principles in one area will inevitably pop up in other areas without conflict.
I've yet to meet someone like that. Are you sure you're not misinterpreting their stance? I can think of times when I was in that position and the other person thought I was being a scientific zealot simply because I wasn't allowing them to use a weak justification for their point, which is fair if you're claiming things without evidence.
My partner and I were just discussing that. What is the end game on this? They're using people's thoughts to control video games, that's pretty fucking cool, but also something that is considered woo. I don't really care in the end, but they sure are downvoting the shit out of it.
Edit: Before you're downvotes start showering in, I agree with you that it's probably meant to divide. I was sort of venting at you. Sorry about that.