Science and Religion Complement Each Other, Not Compete with One another

Abstract

Science seeks to understand nature around us. In the past few hundred years modernity attempted to do so by compartmentalizing knowledge into disciplines and hierarchies. In Nature phenomena exhibit spectra with everything related and connected to everything else in a highly complex fashion that we are barely starting to understand. Nature is constantly changing and evolving, and we only take snap shots and then build assumptions and models. This approach may have helped at one point, but ultimately hindered and blinded us because we became stuck in a narrow path of looking at the world and were missing out on the whole picture. The religion of Islam complements science by providing the framework and the guidance compelling us to ask questions to seek the truth to pursue curiosity and knowledge. Therefore religion is not about questioning the science, nor is it about trying to make the scientific discovery compatible with religious texts. The realm of religion is giving a framework to explore and guidance on how to deal with the discoveries. The plurality in Islam is a manifestation of the diversity of humans striving to understand how religion guides us. Examples of the challenges that face scientists and theologians include cultural evolution, consciousness and epigenetics. Dealing with these challenges in the future requires raising awareness, education, the creation of multidisciplinary committees and ongoing research with an open mind led by the ethical frameworks of theology, with respect and trust.