In Defense of Faith

I’m not usually fond of organized religions, but when I hear faith being described as a problem and science a solution, object I must – especially when the claimant refuses to acknowledge they believe in science, just as many of us happen to believe in our democratic institutions, or in whatever else people believe these days.

How can anyone deny that science is a form of religion while asserting that believing in something is a problem? It’s like trying to have your cake and eat it too.

Why? Because in removing the subject matter of science from the realm of belief — a mental/emotional state which goes hand in hand with our approval of, and confidence in, a certain state of affairs — the proponents feel they’ve acquired a license to pass judgment on the validity of other belief-systems. To wit, if it’s not science, then any other object of human belief, the very state/act of believing, is below contempt.

I find such arguments dangerous. The freedom of worship is another fundamental right, yet the kind of intolerance inherent in this utterly secularist viewpoint defies the spirit of democracy. I’m talking about the modern-day wolves in sheep’s clothing, and their number is growing.

The sooner we realize that ours is a pluralistic society where all opinions matter, the better. Any tyranny concerning speech is antithetical to the spirit of liberal democracies. A view which takes cognizance of the human condition as being incomplete without the necessity to believe in something, which regards faith as one of the essential ingredients of what it means to be human, is a fundamental one. It’s a view which provides for our plurality, our tolerance and mutual understanding, a view without which neither our society nor our system of government would be possible.

Let no individual ever dictate which of our beliefs are justifiable and what objects are worthy of worship. It’s a road to perdition.