Ch 10 Reiterations and Reflections

Abstract

We began this book by asking several important questions: What is religion? What is spirituality? Are religions functional and healthy for individuals and groups? How do we scientifically study the phenomenon of religion; indeed, how do we even define it? Are religions and spiritualities true and, if so, in what ways? To answer these questions, we took a long journey from the outside in, considering many sciences of religion, and from the bottom up, working from a contemporary scientific worldview toward a concept of God-by-whatever-name. To paraphrase the poet W. H. Auden: to ask hard questions is simple, but the answers are hard, and hard to remember.1

Full text

!
The New Sciences of Religion
Copyright ©William Grassie
Please send corrections, comments, and feedback to
grassie@metanexus.net
!
!
!
!
!
!
Metanexus Imprints
New York, NY
All rights reserved.
First published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2010.
Re-released as a Metanexus Imprint in 2019.
ISBN: 9781070628325
!
!
!
!
Cover!image:!The!dome!of!the!Church!of!the!Holy!Sepulcher,!
Jerusalem.!Photograph!by!Jeff!Lefever!©!2009.!
https://www.lefever.com!

!
!
i!
Table of Contents
Preface'to'the'2019'Edition'........................................................................................'iii!
'
Acknowledgements'.........................................................................................................'ix!
Permissions'......................................................................................................................'xiii!
'
Introduction'........................................................................................................................'1!
PART'ONE:''Religion'from'the'Outside'In'............................................................'19!
!
Chapter!1:!!The!Challenge!of!!Comparative!Religion!................................!21!
Chapter!2:!The!Old!Sciences!of!Religion!........................................................!41!
Chapter!3:!The!Economics!of!Religion!...........................................................!65!
Chapter!4:!The!Evolution!of!Religion!..............................................................!99!
Chapter!5:!!The!Cognitive!Neurosciences!of!Religion!...........................!127!
Chapter!6:!!The!Medicine!of!Religion!...........................................................!153!
PART'TWO:''Religion'from'the'Bottom'Up'.......................................................'181!
!
Chapter!7:!!The!Narratives!of!Religion!........................................................!183!
Chapter!8:!!The!New!Religion!of!Science!....................................................!219!
Chapter!9:!God-By-Whatever-Name!............................................................!257!
Chapter!10:!!Reiterations!and!Reflections!.................................................!289!
'
About'the'Author'.........................................................................................................'301!
Bibliography'..................................................................................................................'303!
!

!
!
289!
Chapter 10:
Reiterations and Reflections
!
We!began!this!book!by!asking!several!important!questions:!What!is!
religion?!What!is!spirituality?!Are!religions!functional!and!healthy!
for!individuals!and!groups?!How!do!we!scientifically!study!the!
phenomenon!of!religion;!indeed,!how!do!we!even!define!it?!Are!
religions!and!spiritualities!true!and,!if!so,!in!what!ways?!To!answer!
these!questions,!we!took!a!long!journey!from!the!outside!in,!
considering!many!sciences!of!religion,!and!from!the!bottom!up,!
working!from!a!contemporary!scientific!worldview!toward!a!
concept!of!God-by-whatever-name.!To!paraphrase!the!poet!W.!H.!
Auden:!to!ask!hard!questions!is!simple,!but!the!answers!are!hard,!
and!hard!to!remember.
319
!!
The!hard!answers!in!this!book!will!be!easier!to!remember!if!
we!conduct!a!brief!review.!There!are!five!concepts!to!emphasize!in!
conclusion:!
!
1. nonreductive!functionalism!in!the!sciences!of!religion;!
!
2. entangled!narratives!and!the!challenge!of!comparative!
interpretation;!
!
3. the!interpretation!of!science!as!distinct!from!the!content!of!
science;!
!
4. the!new!metaphysics!of!science:!process,!relation,!
emergence;!and!
!
5. particularist!universalism!in!comparative!religion.!
!
1.#Nonreductive#functionalism:!The!concept!of!nonreductive!
functionalism!recognizes!the!multilevel!and!multivariable!
complexity!of!religious!and!spiritual!phenomena.!Religions,!in!this!
view,!can!be!understood!as!functional!and!dysfunctional!for!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
319
W.H. Auden, W. H. Auden: Selected Poems, ed. Edward Mendelson (New York: Faber &
Faber, 1979), 17.

!
!
290!
individuals!and!groups!with!reference!to!different!kinds!of!secular!
and!psychosocial!goods!in!specific,!often-conflicting!contexts.!This!
kind!of!analysis!is!not!particularly!concerned!with!whether!the!
beliefs!held!and!stories!told!by!religious!people!are!true,!but!rather!
whether!and!how!they!have!pragmatic!utility!in!lived!
circumstances.!That!being!said,!nonreductive!functionalism!holds!
out!the!possibility!that!religious!beliefs!and!practices!can!be!
profound,!perhaps!even!profoundly!true.!
Part!1!of!the!book!primarily!dealt!with!the!theory!of!
nonreductive!functionalism!in!the!scientific!study!of!religious!and!
spiritual!phenomena.!We!did!so!by!reviewing!economic,!
evolutionary,!neurological,!and!medical!models!for!understanding!
religion!and!spirituality.!Within!each!discipline,!we!noted!a!number!
of!debates!and!a!diversity!of!points!of!view.!Between!the!
disciplines,!we!also!noted!that!each!theoretical!orientation!acts!as!a!
kind!of!epistemological!filter,!a!set!of!reading!glasses!that!one!puts!
on,!enabling!one!to!foreground!certain!aspects!of!the!phenomena!
and!not!others.!In!short,!there!will!be!no!grand!unified!theory!of!
religion.!Nonreductive!functionalism!celebrates!the!plurality!of!
perspectives,!encouraging!researchers!to!use!multiple!
methodologies!in!trying!to!understand!the!ubiquity!and!complexity!
of!religious!and!spiritual!phenomena.</NP>!
!
2.#Entangled#narratives:!Already!in!the!beginning,!when!we!
considered!the!diversity!of!religious!beliefs!and!practices!around!
the!world!and!throughout!history,!we!were!confronted!with!the!
problem!of!multiple!and!competing!narratives,!entangled!now!in!a!
global!economy!by!mass!communication!and!population!
migrations.!In!broadening!our!definition!of!religion!to!include!
phenomenologically!similar!processes!such!as!primary!subcultures,!
ideologies,!and!nationalism,!we!also!came!to!understand!(1)!the!
narrative!nature!of!human!nature!and!(2)!the!difficulty!of!
adjudicating!between!these!different!worldviews.!Each!
metanarrative!that!we!enumerated!structures!what!people!think!is!
true!and!good!and!what!people!recognize!as!the!relevant!evidence!
in!supporting!that!metanarrative.!Thus,!these!metanarratives!
provide!a!powerful!orientation!for!thinking!and!acting!in!the!world.!
These!insights!lead!to!the!postmodern!moment!in!contemporary!
scholarship!and!world!affairs,!where!we!are!reduced!either!to!a!

!
!
291!
troubling!relativism!or!a!more!troubling!will!to!power.!A!critical!
and!humble!hermeneutics!helps!to!negotiate!this!new!reality!of!
competing!and!entangled!worldviews!and!world!doings.!Our!best!
hope!for!sorting!out!this!muddle!is!to!adopt!what!I!call!“intellectual!
nonviolence,”!in!other!words,!intentionally!adopting!multiple!
perspectives,!inhabiting!multiple!rationalities,!as!structured!by!
different!metanarratives!in!reference!to!many!data!sets.!I!likened!
this!to!the!multiple!methodologies!advocated!by!nonreductive!
functionalism!in!the!scientific!study!of!religion.!I!likened!it!also!to!
the!very!ideals!of!science,!which!I!characterized!as!altruistic!fidelity!
to!the!phenomena.!Multiple!methodologies,!multiple!worldviews,!
and!multiple!perspectives!hold!the!greatest!promise!for!discerning!
larger!truths!and!pragmatics!goods.!
!
3.#The#interpretation#of#science:!It!may!be!a!difficult!boundary!to!
police,!but!it!is!essential!that!we!maintain!a!distinction!between!the!
facts!of!science!and!the!interpretation!of!science.!To!interpret!
science!responsibly!requires!that!we!understand!the!philosophy!of!
science!as!well!as!the!cumulative!content!of!many!sciences!in!
diverse!disciplines.!I!defined!science!as!(1)!different!methods!for!
detecting!patterned!phenomena!and!explaining!causal!
relationships,!(2)!applied!by!communities!of!specialists!(3)!in!
rigorous!“dialogue”!with!phenomena,!(4)!always!implicated!in!lived!
historical!contexts!and!limitations,!(5)!resulting!in!a!self-correcting,!
self-transcending,!and!progressive!learning!process!that!(6)!makes!
strongly!objective!truth!claims,!(7)!which!facts!are!pragmatically!
verified!in!practical!applications!(8)!and!cumulatively!related!in!a!
unified!body!of!knowledge!(9)!that!can!be!organized!hierarchically!
by!chronology!of!emergence,!scales!of!size,!and!degrees!of!
complexity.!!
Science,!I!argued,!can!no!longer!be!thought!of!as!a!privileged!
epistemology,!but!is!nonetheless!a!unified!body!of!knowledge,!
knowledge!that!now!presents!itself!as!a!privileged!metanarrative.!
The!new!evolutionary!cosmology!must!now!replace!earlier!
religious!cosmologies.!The!latter!might!be!interpreted!
metaphorically!and!metaphysically,!but!in!no!sense,!can!we!think!of!
religious!cosmologies!in!a!literal!sense.!Reading!sacred!scriptures!
as!science!textbooks,!for!instance,!is!a!huge!and!embarrassing!
category!mistake.!

!
!
292!
The!interpretation!of!science,!in!its!parts!and!as!an!epic!whole,!
is!open!to!numerous!strategies.!The!Stoic!and!Existentialist!
interpretation!favored!by!some!contemporary!oracles!of!science!is!
but!one!of!many!strategies.!Theistic!interpretations!of!the!new!
cosmology!are!not!only!plausible!but!are!more!probable!than!the!
Stoic!and!Existentialist!interpretation,!which,!I!argue,!is!self-
refuting.!A!theistic!interpretation!of!the!Epic!of!Evolution,!however,!
requires!that!we!also!reinterpret!our!traditional!understandings!of!
God!and!the!universe.!
!
4.#The#new#metaphysics:!Interpretations!of!science!always!
involve!metaphysical!assumptions,!for!instance,!in!defining!terms!
like!natural!and!supernatural,!phenomena!and!epiphenomena,!or!
material!and!nonmaterial.!These!terms!are!also!implicated!in!our!
understanding!of!religious!and!spiritual!phenomena!and!whether!
and!how!they!might!be!true.!Metaphysical!arguments!are!inductive!
generalizations!on!a!grand!scale!that!attempt!to!characterize!the!
fundamental!nature!of!ultimate!reality.!We!can!provide!evidence!
for!or!against!some!particular!metaphysical!interpretation,!but!we!
cannot!simply!prove!that!one!metaphysical!interpretation!is!true!or!
not.!Nevertheless,!some!metaphysical!systems!may!be!more!
plausible,!more!practical,!and!more!pleasing!than!others,!
depending!on!how!well!they!account!for!the!totality!of!evidence.!!
In!our!bottom-up!approach!to!religion!and!spirituality,!we!
encountered!a!dialectic!between!reductionism!and!holism!in!
contemporary!science.!We!noted!that!the!concept!of!materialism!
deconstructs!itself!in!contemporary!physics!and!stressed!the!
importance!of!information!as!a!new!metaphysical!category!in!our!
contemporary!scientific!understandings!of!natural!processes.!We!
also!considered!hierarchies!of!explanation!in!science,!as!well!as!
hierarchies!of!size,!chronology,!and!complexity!in!the!universe.!We!
postulated!that!the!phenomena!of!emergence!provide!an!entry!
point!for!concepts!of!transcendence,!including!a!logical!possibility!
space!for!emergent!phenomena!that!might!be!characterized!as!
“miracles”!or!other!kinds!of!“supernatural”!events,!albeit!with!
many!caveats!and!doubts!noted.!This!bottom-up!approach!also!
gave!us!new!concepts!of!information!and!time!that!provide!new!
ways!of!thinking!about!the!possibilities!of!an!afterlife,!whether!it!be!
thought!of!as!a!resurrection!or!a!reincarnation.!None!of!this!was!to!

!
!
293!
prove!the!existences!of!miracles!or!the!reality!of!an!afterlife,!only!to!
show!logical!possibilities!for!these!religious!beliefs!to!be!plausible!
interpretations!within!a!contemporary!scientific!framework.!
We!noted!that!it!was!now!possible!to!postulate!a!concept!of!
God-by-whatever-name!as!the!set!of!all!events—past,!present,!and!
future—and!that!which!also!transcends!the!known!universe.!In!this!
set!theory!of!the!transcendence,!God!would!be!characterized!by!
process!and!relations,!manifested!through!the!emergent!properties!
of!the!universe,!including!the!emergence!of!human!persons!and!
personalities.!This!is!not!simply!an!abstract!conception!of!God!
because,!insofar!as!the!universe!has!given!rise!to!persons!and!
insofar!as!our!own!personhood!is!epistemically!and!existentially!
central!to!our!own!human!perspectives,!God-ing-Universe!must!
also!in!some!sense!include!personality!and!subjectivity.!This!view!
of!God!is!fully!consistent!with!contemporary!science!and!may!also!
help!in!recovering!neglected!and!more!authentic!interpretations!of!
sacred!scriptures.!In!this!view,!the!religions!of!the!world!represent!
intuitions!and!discoveries!by!humans!into!the!nature!of!this!
ultimate!reality,!accumulated,!filtered,!and!passed!on!over!
millennia!of!human!experimentation!in!diverse!historical!and!
cultural!contexts.!
Finally,!we!noted!that!God-by-whatever-name,!as!understood!
from!the!bottom!up,!seems!to!desire!in!the!universe!the!increased!
complexification!of!entities!(differentiation),!increased!integration!
of!entities!(communion),!and!increased!self-creative!“freedom”!of!
entities!(autopoeisis).!This!provides!a!kind!of!expressed!teleology!
and!purpose!in!the!universe!and,!with!it,!a!natural!moral!order!for!
humans.!In!other!words,!God’s!purposes!are!served!when!humans!
preserve!and!increase!complexity,!recognize!and!intensify!
communion,!and!defend!and!extend!freedoms.!Thus,!from!our!
theology!of!nature,!working!from!the!bottom!up,!it!is!possible!to!
derive!a!natural!law!philosophy!based!on!contemporary!science.!
!
5.#Particularist#universalism:!At!different!times!in!this!book,!I!
have!made!analogies!between!the!sciences!of!religion!and!the!field!
of!linguistics.!I!have!argued!that,!in!spite!of!the!diversity!of!religious!
beliefs!and!practices,!it!may!be!possible!to!decode!universal!
patterns!of!thoughts!and!behaviors,!much!as!linguistics!is!able!to!do!
between!diverse!human!languages.!This!possibility!and!some!

!
!
294!
empirical!examples!led!me!to!speculate!that!there!is!more!
functional!diversity!inside!a!major!religious!tradition!than!between!
traditions.!
Later,!I!took!the!linguistic!analogy!even!further,!by!suggesting!
that!the!philosophy!of!science!may!be!akin!to!linguistics.!Just!as!one!
could!speak!a!human!language!and!know!nothing!of!formal!
grammar!and!linguistics,!so!too!could!one!practice!a!science!and!
know!nothing!of!the!philosophy!of!science.!The!philosophy!of!
science,!however,!is!necessary!and!useful!in!trying!to!understand!
how!the!sciences!actually!work!across!different!domains.!
I!took!the!analogy!one!step!further!when!I!suggested!that!the!
universe!is,!in!some!sense,!already!linguistic,!as!manifested!in!the!
intelligibility!of!nature!to!scientific!investigation,!as!well!as!other!
kinds!of!human!representation.!I!called!this!“symbolic!realism”!and!
noted!that!this!was!one!of!the!intuitions!we!have!inherited!from!
many!religious!traditions.!The!deep!semiotics!of!nature!is!an!
intimation!of!a!deeper!semantics!to!the!universe,!emergent!
meaning!and!purpose!that!both!religion!and!science!can!help!us!to!
understand!better.!
The!linguistics!analogy,!however,!also!suggests!that!we!must!
return!from!abstract!generalities!to!speaking!particular!human!
languages,!even!as!we!discuss!common!patterns!and!features!
between!different!human!languages.!Here!we!have!the!dialectic!
between!generalization!and!specialization,!synthesis!and!analysis.!
We!can!practice!only!particular!sciences,!not!sciences!in!general.!
And!if!this!analogy!holds,!then!whatever!truths!and!profundities!
are!intuited!by!world!religions!can!themselves!only!be!approached!
inside!particular!religious!idioms,!even!as!we!can!only!speak!a!
single!human!language!at!a!time.!To!really!appreciate!religion,!one!
must!be!“competent”!in!a!particular!religion,!entering!into!the!
richly!informative!and!emotive!rationalities!and!practices!of!one!
great!religion!and!scriptural!tradition.!The!“magic”!of!religion!
requires!deep!emotional!and!social!commitments,!much!like!the!
“magic”!of!placebos!that!we!discussed!in!chapter!six!also!requires!
psychosocial-somatic!reinforcement.!In!practice,!religion!is!more!
about!prayer!and!liturgy!than!about!philosophy!and!theology.!The!
magic!of!religion!is!more!performative!than!intellectual.!Indeed,!
belief!and!faith!might!better!be!thought!of!as!antonyms!because!the!

!
!
295!
latter!requires!consequential!action!within!the!context!of!
uncertainty.!!
If!one!hopes!to!go!beyond!the!superficiality!of!abstract!religion!
without!a!lived!practice!(this!would!be!an!absurd!impossibility!in!
linguistics),!then!one!must!probably!commit!to!entering!the!
religious!idiom!of!a!particular!tradition.!Multireligious!fluency!is!a!
possibility,!but!it!is!no!doubt!difficult!to!acquire,!especially!because!
the!wisdom!of!religions!is!as!much!about!embodied!practice!as!it!is!
about!ideas,!concepts,!and!beliefs.!After!all!the!critical!analysis!is!
done!from!the!imagined!outside!looking!in,!what!is!most!true!and!
most!important!about!religion!will!only!be!encountered!from!
within.!This,!then,!is!Ricoeur’s!concept!of!“the!second!naïveté”:!
after!all!the!demythologizing!and!deconstruction,!there!comes!a!
moment!of!remythologizing!and!reconstruction.!The!term!
particularist/universalism!tries!to!capture!some!of!that!dynamic!of!
universal!verities!that!can!be!discovered!only!through!particular!
religious!idioms.!
Of!course,!like!languages,!religions!also!evolve.!To!say!that!we!
should!fully!commit!to!a!single!religious!tradition!to!probe!the!
wisdom!therein!must!not!blind!us!to!the!ways!that!religions!evolve!
by!interacting!with!other!traditions!and!changing!social!
circumstances.!The!evolution!of!religious!idioms!is!demonstrable!in!
past!history!and!is!to!be!expected!even!more!so!in!the!future,!
especially!given!the!globalization!of!our!civilization.!Religions,!like!
languages,!borrow!from!their!neighbors,!even!as!they!seek!to!
maintain!the!boundaries!of!correct!usage.!Maintaining!those!
boundaries,!however,!need!not!mean!disparaging!other!religions!as!
inferior!or!mistaken.!If!religions!are!not!all!partly!right!in!intuiting!
something!profound!about!the!universe!and!humans,!then!they!are!
all!probably!completely!wrong!on!their!most!fundamental!
commitments.!Religious!exclusivism!is!not!only!dangerous!in!a!
world!of!weapons!of!mass!destruction,!it!also!undermines!the!
intellectual!plausibility!of!any!religion’s!making!ontologically!valid!
truth!claims.!
!
I!have!employed!the!metaphor!of!outside/in!to!explore!what!might!
be!entailed!in!the!new!sciences!of!religion.!I!have!similarly!
employed!the!metaphor!of!bottom/up!to!develop!a!new!religious!
metaphysics!of!science.!In!the!end,!these!metaphors!can!and!should!

!
!
296!
be!deconstructed.!There!is!no!objective!outside!from!which!to!
observe!the!human!drama;!there!is!no!bottom!from!which!to!build!
up!that!does!not!presuppose!finite!human!perspectives!at!the!top.!
And!yet!this!hermeneutical!move,!what!Ricoeur!called!
distanciation,!is!a!powerful!technique!for!transforming!a!solipsistic!
hermeneutical!circle!into!a!spiral!of!new!possibilities!and!new!
insights.!This!book!as!a!whole!is!an!example!of!such!a!
hermeneutics,!a!hermeneutic!of!multiple!methodologies!and!
perspectives!entered!into!in!a!spirit!of!intellectual!nonviolence.!
This!long!argument!is!inconclusive,!perhaps!disappointing.!
The!new!sciences!of!religion!offer!some!interesting!insights,!but!
over!and!over!again,!we!see!that!they!are!limited!and!contextually!
dependent.!We!are!humbled!in!the!face!of!the!complexity!of!the!
phenomena!we!study!from!the!outside.!We!are!all!“participant!
observers”!in!the!sense!that!we!cannot!really!avoid!certain!
existential,!ethical,!and!metaphysical!questions!that!are!
traditionally!part!of!the!domain!of!religions.!When!we!study!
religion!from!the!outside,!we!typically!employ!disciplines!such!as!
sociology,!psychology,!and!anthropology.!I!have!largely!ignored!
these!fields,!but!this!is!not!meant!to!be!a!disparagement.!Indeed,!I!
still!find!archetypal!psychoanalytic!interpretations!of!religion!in!
Freudian,!Jungian,!and!other!schools!to!be!powerfully!illuminating,!
though!I!have!not!discussed!these!in!this!book.!Instead,!I!have!used!
disciplines!such!as!evolutionary!psychology,!economics,!game!
theory,!linguistics,!and!philosophy.!Of!course,!it!is!not!enough!to!
theorize!from!outside;!one!also!needs!to!check!the!validity!of!the!
theories!with!the!data!from!inside.!!
Many!of!those!who!purport!to!offer!us!a!new!science!of!
religion!are!still!encumbered!with!the!old!Enlightenment!animus!
toward!religion.!They!seek!to!explain!religion!away!and!enthrone!
science!as!sacred.!They!detest!the!category!that!they!purport!to!
study!scientifically.!In!the!case!of!some,!I!am!reminded!of!the!
proverbial!armchair!anthropologist!who!sits!in!his!university!study!
theorizing!about!some!tribe!in!Borneo!or!Brazil!but!who!has!never!
done!any!field!work.!He!is!not!going!to!live!among!the!natives,!learn!
their!languages,!eat!their!food,!play!with!their!children,!and!talk!
with!their!elders.!This!Victorian-era!anthropologist!is!certainly!not!
going!to!be!a!“participant!observer.”!Furthermore,!this!
contemporary!scientist!of!religion!is!studying!the!tribe!with!the!

!
!
297!
intention!of!ensuring!its!extinction!because!he!detests!the!
“ignorant!heathens.”!So,!at!least,!appear!to!me!some!of!the!New!
Atheists,!who!seek!to!explain!religion!away,!but!that,!of!course,!is!
because!they!are!missionaries!promoting!what!should!really!be!
understood!as!a!new!religious!movement.!When!understood!as!
such,!as!one!“religion”!among!many,!they!are!more!than!welcome!at!
the!table!of!interreligious!dialogue.!
Others!who!promote!a!scientific!study!of!religion!do!so!with!
apologetic!biases,!trying!to!revalorize!religion,!generally!their!own!
tradition,!through!studies!that!show!the!secular!utility!of!religion!in!
promoting!human!health!and!well-being.!These!religiously!
motivated!social!scientists!at!least!love!what!they!study,!but!that!
love!presents!a!curious!dilemma!and!a!potentially!problematic!
distortion.!
It!is!not!clear!to!me!that!scientists!can!ever!legitimately!study!
something—animal,!vegetable,!or!mineral—that!they!do!not!on!
some!level!believe!is!intrinsically!fascinating!and!beautiful,!worthy!
of!respect,!and!a!great!deal!of!their!efforts.!Actually,!we!should!all!
be!fascinated!with!religion!for!a!variety!of!reasons.!It!is!a!powerful!
and!enduring!human!phenomenon;!it!is!an!important!part!of!our!
common!history;!it!inspires!great!works!of!art!and!literature;!it!
motivates!the!best!and!the!worst!things!that!humans!do!in!the!
world;!it!raises!profound!questions!about!meaning!and!purpose;!it!
proposes!answers!to!those!questions.!
The!normal!course!of!a!scientific!career!begins!by!falling!in!
love!with!the!phenomena!that!one!then!studies!in!excruciating!
detail!for!years,!if!not!decades.!How!could!one!devote!so!much!
effort!to!something!that!one!detests?!True!science!is!best!
understood!as!altruistic!fidelity!to!the!phenomena,!and!it!matters!
not!whether!the!phenomena!are!particles,!proteins,!or!people.!If!
the!phenomena!are!going!to!be!religion!and!spirituality,!then!the!
science!thereof!is!going!to!need!to!begin!with!deep!empathy!and!
engaged!fascination.!Now!comes!the!rub:!in!order!for!it!to!be!a!
science,!this!empathy!and!fascination!must!also!include!a!certain!
distance,!rigor,!and!objectivity.!At!every!stage,!we!must!resist!the!
seduction!of!filtering!our!sciences!of!religion!through!ideological!
and!apologetic!filters,!which!invariably!predetermine!the!results!of!
our!studies.!Beware!of!rotten!fruit!in!sheep’s!clothing,!to!mix!
Jesus’s!mixed!metaphors,!and!radical-atheist!scientists!purporting!

!
!
298!
to!study!religion.!The!corollary!is!to!beware!of!devoted!religionists!
purporting!to!study!religion!scientifically.!In!both!cases,!we!will!get!
different!forms!of!apologetics!with!predetermined!conclusions.!!
This!book!is!also!a!kind!of!apologia,!true,!but!one!that!seeks!to!
be!fair!and!balanced.!E.!O.!Wilson!writes!in!his!book!Consilience!that!
“science!faces!in!ethics!and!religion!its!most!interesting!and!
possibly!humbling!challenge,!while!religion!must!somehow!find!the!
way!to!incorporate!the!discoveries!of!science!in!order!to!retain!
credibility.”!This!is!a!sage!observation!and!sound!advice!for!both!
sides.!Wilson!continues,!“[T]he!eventual!result!of!the!competition!
between!the!two!world!views,!I!believe,!will!be!the!secularization!of!
the!human!epic!and!of!religion!itself.”!This!is!a!statement!of!
Wilson’s!own!faith!and!not!a!necessary!or!even!obvious!conclusion!
to!be!drawn!from!science!or!history.!Indeed,!given!the!resurgence!
of!religion!in!the!world!today,!Wilson’s!hope!appears!utopic!and!
counterfactual.!He!concludes,!“However!the!process!plays!out,!it!
demands!open!discussion!and!unwavering!intellectual!rigor!in!an!
atmosphere!of!mutual!respect.”
320
!This,!of!course,!I!affirm;!but!the!
new!sciences!of!religion!still!have!a!long!way!to!go!in!fostering!an!
atmosphere!of!mutual!respect,!open!discussion,!and!unwavering!
intellectual!rigor.!I!hope!this!book!has!helped!contribute!to!such!a!
dialogue.!
The!late!Pope!John!Paul!II!weighed!in!on!this!very!subject!as!
well:!
!
Science!can!purify!religion!from!error!and!superstition;!
religion!can!purify!science!from!idolatry!and!false!absolutes.!
Each!can!draw!the!other!into!a!wider!world,!a!world!in!which!
both!can!flourish.
321
!
!
I!would!only!add!that!error,!superstition,!idolatry,!and!false!
absolutes!seem!to!be!shared!in!different!measures!on!both!sides!of!
the!science!and!religion!ledger.!The!corrective!is!certainly!to!be!
found!in!more!and!better!science!and!in!more!and!better!religion,!
but!especially!in!vigorous,!open-ended!exploration!between!both!
domains.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
320
Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge (New York: Knopf, 1998), 265.
321
John Paul II, "Letter to Reverend George V. Coyne, S.J.," June 1, 1988,
http://clavius.as.arizona.edu/vo/R1024/ppt-Message.html.

!
!
299!
If!I!were!to!reduce!the!religious!impulse!to!one!word,!it!would!
be!hope.!!Without!some!faith!in!the!future,!a!sense!of!meaning!and!
purpose!that!transcends!the!past!and!motivates!the!present,!there!
would!be!no!reason!and!no!need!for!religion.!!In!the!first!chapter!of!
Genesis,!God!declares!that!life!is!“good,”!indeed!“very!good”!when!
considered!as!a!whole.!That!goodness!is!not!a!scientific!statement,!
but!a!statement!of!faith!that!sooner!or!later!will!be!put!to!the!test!in!
a!world!also!filled!with!trials!and!tribulations,!suffering!and!death.!
This!transcendent!hope!gives!meaning!to!the!past,!value!to!the!
present,!and!purpose!to!the!future.!Of!course,!as!a!nonreductive!
functionalist,!I!am!not!allowed!to!reduce!religion!to!any!one!thing!
or!word,!but!still!I!remain!hopeful!against!all!evidence!to!the!
contrary!and!see!therein!something!of!the!magic!and!reality!of!the!
spiritual!intuitions!handed!down!to!us!by!religions.!
What!is!thought!to!be!on!the!inside!of!religion!and!what!is!
thought!to!be!outside!is!something!we!should!continually!question.!
We!need!to!be!pushing!on!these!boundaries,!testing!certain!
assumptions!and!prejudices.!Religious!people!should!be!the!first!to!
erase!the!boundary.!There!is!no!reason!to!fear!any!of!the!sciences!
of!religion.!These!are!just!an!enlargement!of!the!relevant!
curriculum!and!can!be!helpmates!in!the!hermeneutics!of!
authenticity!that!every!religion!confronts!from!the!inside.!!
Nor!can!the!scientifically!minded!atheist!or!secular!society!
simply!avoid!existential,!ethical,!and!metaphysical!questions!that!
are!normally!thought!to!be!in!the!domain!of!religions.!Indeed,!in!
encountering!these!questions,!scientists!should!expect!to!learn!
much!from!thousands!of!years!of!human!experimentation!and!
reflection!by!religions!at!different!times!and!in!different!cultures.!
To!my!colleagues!in!the!sciences,!please!do!push!the!scientific!
envelope!as!far!as!possible!but!be!humble!and!self-critical,!as!
religious!people!must!also!be.!And!whether!we!are!working!from!
the!top!down!or!the!bottom!up,!from!the!inside!out!or!the!outside!
in,!we!can!hope!to!meet!some!day!in!the!middle!with!many!
beautiful,!good,!and!true!stories!to!tell!each!other.!
!
! !