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Not a science fact per se: Until recently I haven't realised the amount of damage inflicted by religion or in the name of religion if you will, to our species.
by atmosx 6y ago
Not a science fact per se: Until recently I haven't realised the amount of damage inflicted by religion or in the name of religion if you will, to our species. Take Heliocentrism[^1] for example, it was alluded in the 5th century BC that the Earth revolves around the sun and that stars are other "suns". Then religion came along. Galileo nearly died for re-iterating a theory that was accepted by part of the scientific community nearly 2000 years before him.
In similar fashion, years ago while studying the circulatory system for the anatomy class I came across a wikipedia article. This particular part of the circulatory system was documented in detail by Egyptians in 200 BC. Knowledge came from the mummification process. The next breakthrough in this area was made in the 19th century.
Looks like our species could have a colony in Mars by now, if science were allowed to breakthrough linearly.
[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism
- DevX101 6y agoI'm not personally religious but I'd be very careful before assuming religion, an institution that's been with humans for thousands of years, was a net negative. I think humans probably have some innate desire for institutions with religious-like properties. And as we've become more secular over the past 60 years, there's been an increase in people that seem to be making politics the replacement, which may end up being more destructive than theistic religion ever was.
- atmosx 6y ago> I think humans probably have some innate desire for institutions with religious-like properties. Hm, but we grow in a religious setting, the larger part of the population. So, is it an innate desire or a designed reality for population control?
- bruce511 6y agoReligion is an ambiguous term, which can be why arguments of this sort can get out of hand. To some, religion = faith. And I think you'll find that most faith has little to say about science (and in the case of your example says nothing about the earth/sun relationship). More commonly though, when referencing Religion you are really talking about Politics. Heliocentrasim, the crusades, Muslim terrorism, are all about politics, not faith. When you make an argument using the word Religion in a political sense, but others read it as attacking their faith, then things get very ugly. In other words you can be a devout Christian, and still consider the crusades to be awful. And you can be a good Muslim and consider 9/11 to be an act of war. Most anytime someone talks about religion as being the cause of war and conflict, the root cause is politics, not faith.
- atmosx 6y agoI'm sorry if I offended you, that was not my intention. Other than that, your reply doesn't make any sense, at all.