RCS 821: The Awareness of God and the Impact of Science

Humanism and Empirical Science

According to American Humanist Association (2021), humanism is a progressive philosophy of

life that, without theism or other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to
lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good. Accordingly, humanism
is asserted in The Humanist Magazine, a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by
art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the
maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary
responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the
open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes
human beings as a part of nature and holds that values-be they religious, ethical, social, or
political-have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of
life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and
asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny.

Humanists reject the idea or belief in a supernatural being such as God. This means that
humanists class themselves as agnostics or atheists. Humanists have no belief in an afterlife, and
so they focus on seeking happiness in this life. They rely on science for the answers to questions
such as creation, and base their moral and ethical decision-making on reason, empathy and
compassion for others. They are concerned with human welfare and happiness and believe that
this is the one and only life and world they have.
As a result, they believe that people should make the most of their lives while on Earth.
However, they also believe that they have a duty to support others to live fulfilling lives too –
this includes people who are alive today as well as future generations.

Because humanists do not believe in any kind of god or supernatural force that will solve their
problems, they believe that human beings must take sole responsibility for solving the world's
environmental problems. Only humans are capable of finding the solutions that can lead to a
sustainable existence (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt2nmsg/revision/4).

Empirical evidence is information acquired by observation or experimentation. Scientists record

and analyze this data. The process is a central part of the scientific method.

The scientific method

The scientific method begins with scientists forming questions, or hypotheses, and then acquiring
the knowledge through observations and experiments to either support or disprove a specific
theory. "Empirical" means "based on observation or experience," according to the Merriam-
Webster Dictionary. Empirical research is the process of finding empirical evidence. Empirical
data is the information that comes from the research (Bradford, 2017).

Corpernican Revolution

The Corpernican is from the name Nicolaus Corpernicus, a 15th century Polish scientist,
mathematician, and astronomer who proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the
universe and the earth revolved around it (Rabin, 2019). However, Copernican Revolution, shift
in the field of astronomy from a geocentric understanding of the universe, centred around Earth,
to a heliocentric understanding, centred around the Sun, as articulated by the Polish astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century. This shift marked the start of a broader Scientific
Revolution that set the foundations of modern science and allowed science to flourish as an
autonomous discipline within its own right (Brush et al, 2020). According to Greg Jackson in
E.notes Editorial (2020), the Copernican Revolution made lasting impacts on the worldview of
Western civilization that last to this day. At first, it challenged the view that Earth, and by
extension humans, are at the center of the Universe. By demonstrating that the Earth orbits the
Sun, just like the other planets, people began to question established religious dogma. In a
nutshell, The Copernican Revolution impacted European society because it showed that long-
held beliefs could be inaccurate. It promoted curiosity and scientific inquiry. This had the effect
of weakening the influence of religious and political institutions.

Secularization:

According to Wilson (1966) defined secularization as “the process whereby religious thinking,
practices and institutions lose social significance” (quoted in Thompson, 2018).
Elsewhere,secularization is provided by Steve Bruce (2002) who defines secularization as a
“social condition manifest in (a) the declining importance of religion for the operation of non-
religious roles and institutions such as the state and the economy’; (b) a decline in the social
standing of religious roles and institutions; and (c) a decline in the extent to which people engage
in religious practices, display beliefs of a religious kind, and conduct other aspects of their lives
in a manner informed by such beliefs’ (quoted in Thompson, 2018). For Thompson (2018),
secularization is the declining importance of religion in a society.

More so, Secularization refers to the historical process in which religion loses social and cultural
significance. As a result of secularization the role of religion in modern societies becomes
restricted (sociology.emory.edu ›). According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, secularization is the
transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward
nonreligious values and secular institutions. Secularization, in the main, sociological meaning of
the term, involves the historical process in which religion loses social and cultural significance.
As a result of secularization the role of religion in modern societies becomes restricted. In
secularized societies faith lacks cultural authority, and religious organizations have little social
power ( Wikipedia Encyclopedia).

According to Editors of Britannica (2002), modernization involves a process of secularization;

that is, it systematically challenges religious institutions, beliefs, and practices, substituting for
them those of reason and science. This process was first observable in Christian Europe toward
the end of the 17th century. Invariably, Smith (2012) is of the opinion that "modernization" is
different from seculararization arguing that intellectual and cultural élites promote secularization
to enhance their own status and influence. Smith believes that intellectuals have an inherent
tendency to be hostile to their native cultures, causing them to embrace secularism.

According to Vocabulary.com (n.d.), seculararization is characterized by a situation when

something changes from being closely connected to or controlled by religion to being
nonreligious. For instance, a religious school that's ending its affiliation with a church is
undergoing secularization. An institution, government, or society that has no connection to
religion is secular, and the process of moving toward being secular is secularization. If a
country's population has become less religious or spiritual over time, it's evidence of the
secularization of the entire society. Many colleges, including Harvard University for example,
were religious institutions until they underwent secularization.

Conclusion

Up until the 1860s, the harmony between science and faith continued to be mainstream, but there
were some earlier threats from working-class radicals who saw an avenue for using certain
versions of science for political ends. For instance, some forms of the sciences from France saw
God in a much diminished role in the universe. British men, especially geologists, made
discoveries which threatened the literal meaning of the Book of Genesis in the Bible. And, of
course, Darwin's "Origin of the Species" posed threats for religious fundamentalists who
believed in the existence of a designing God.

References
Thompson, K. (2018). What is Secularization? Retrieved on March 2021 from
https://revisesociology.com/2018/08/21/what-is-secularization/

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2002, March 1). Seculararization and Rationalization.

Encyclopedia Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/topic/modernization/Secularization-and-
rationalization

Vocabulary.com (n.d.). Secularization. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/secularization.

Smith, C. (2012). The Secular Revolution: Powers, Interests, and Conflicts in the Secularization
of American Public Life. University of California Press.

Brush, S. G. , Spencer, . J. Brookes and Osler, . Margaret J. (2020, June 24). Copernican
Revolution. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Copernican-Revolution

Rabin, S. (2019). Nicolaus Copernicus. Retrieved from

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/copernicus/#LifeWork

Bradford, A. (2017). Empirical Evidence: A Definition. Retrieved on 18th March, 2021 from
https://www.livescience.com/21456-empirical-evidence-a-definition.html

eNotes Editorial (2020). What were some impacts that the Copernican Revolution in religion,
politics, science, art, music, and so on...?" https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-were-
some-impacts-that-the-copernican-408300. Accessed 23 Mar. 2021.