Religious outlook. Features of the religious worldview

Religious worldview and its features.

Religion- worldview and attitude, as well as the corresponding behavior and specific actions of people, which are based on belief in the supernatural (gods, higher mind, some absolute, etc.); complicated spiritual education and a socio-historical phenomenon, where faith is invariably put in the first place and is always valued above knowledge.
Causes of occurrence:
lack of knowledge, the desire to explain the occurring phenomena and processes;
development of a person's ability to abstract thinking;
complication of social life associated with the emergence of the state and social inequality.
Religion is a more mature form of worldview than mythology. In it, being is comprehended not by mythical, but by other means. Let's single out the following:
in religious consciousness, the subject and the object are already clearly separated, therefore, the inseparable nature of man and nature, characteristic of the myth, is overcome;
the world split into spiritual and bodily, earthly and heavenly, natural and supernatural worlds, and in addition, the earthly one begins to be considered as a consequence of the supernatural.
in religion, the supernatural world is inaccessible to the senses, and therefore one should believe in the objects of this world. Faith is the main means of comprehending being;
a feature of the religious worldview is also its practicality, since faith without works is dead. In this regard, faith in God and the supernatural world in general causes a kind of enthusiasm, that is, vital energy, which gives the understanding of this world a vital character;
if for myth the main thing is to substantiate the connection of the individual with the clan, then for religion the main thing is to achieve the unity of man with God as the embodiment of holiness and absolute value.
There are various philosophers' approaches to the existence of God:
pantheism - God is an impersonal principle, "poured" throughout nature and identical with it;

Pantheism- a religious and philosophical worldview, according to which God is the world, the universe, everything that exists, i.e. everything is one, whole. Pantheism is characterized by the denial of anthropocentrism i.e. giving God human traits, personality traits.

Theism - God created the world and continues to be active in it

Theism(Greek god) - a religious and philosophical doctrine, which recognizes the existence of a personal god as a supernatural being with reason and will and mysteriously affecting all material and spiritual processes. T. often considers what is happening in the world as the implementation of divine providence. The natural regularity in T. is made dependent on divine providence. Unlike deism, t. argues the direct participation of God in all world events, and unlike pantheism, defends the existence of God outside the world and above it. T. is the ideological basis of clericalism, theology, and fideism. T.: hostile to science and the scientific worldview.

Deism - God, having created the world, does not take any part in it and does not interfere in the natural course of its events;

Deism- a religious and philosophical worldview, according to which the basis of the world, of all things, is God as an absolute person who does not interfere with the course of events in the world.

Atheism is the denial of belief in the existence of gods.
Atheism (from the Greek άθεος - godless) - a worldview that rejects the existence of God / gods, in a narrower sense - a complete conviction in the absence of a supernatural world. Atheism is based on the recognition of the natural world surrounding man as unique and self-sufficient, and considers religions and gods to be the creation of man himself.

Peculiarities:
absolute existence in god/gods or something supernatural;
religion is based on creeds;
consistency and consistency, i.e. logical order (compared to mythology)
has 2 levels: theoretical-ideological, i.e. level of understanding of the world, and socio-psychological, i.e. level of attitude;
distinguishes between natural and unnatural;
belief in a super power (God) capable of harmonizing any chaos, manipulating nature and people's destinies;
the foundation of the world is the spirit, the idea;
for religion, the main thing is to achieve the unity of man with God, as the embodiment of holiness and absolute value.

Similarities and differences between philosophy and religion

Philosophy and religion seek to answer the question of man's place in the world, of the relationship between man and the world. They are equally interested in the questions: what is good? what is evil? where is the source of good and evil? How to achieve moral perfection? Like religion, philosophy is characterized by transcending, i.e. going beyond the limits of possible experience, beyond the limits of reason.

But there are also differences between them. Religion is a mass consciousness. Philosophy is a theoretical, elitist consciousness. Religion requires unquestioning faith, and philosophy proves its truths by appeal to reason. Philosophy always welcomes any scientific discoveries as a condition for expanding our knowledge of the world.

It is no secret that the religious worldview is currently not very popular. After all, the main feature of it is faith. And what sane person would blindly believe in something that can be proven through science? Is it really true: religion and science are on opposite sides of the barricades. And why in Lately there are so many opponents religious outlook?

Forms of religious worldview

One of the most archaic forms of religious worldview was animism (from Latin anima - soul) - belief in the spirituality of natural phenomena. The reasons for this view of the world are quite understandable: man in ancient times was much more dependent on nature than we are today.

Therefore, such natural phenomena as thunder, lightning, earthquakes were inevitably animated.

In addition, fetishism stands out - the belief in the animation of inanimate objects: stones, forests, swamps. On this basis, then the faith of kikimor, goblin, mermaids and other evil spirits appears.

You also need to know about magic. Yes, yes, you heard right. In ancient times, a magical worldview also prevailed - the belief that a person can influence the forces of nature with the help of various kinds of rituals. It is clear that such a need was born again from the dependence of people on the forces of nature.

Correlation of religious outlook and science

If we looked at society a few centuries ago, we would see the clear superiority of religion in the thoughts and views of people. One might think that circumstances simply forced the people of that time to be deeply religious, not giving a chance for the development of secular knowledge.

But let us remember such scientists as Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, Gregor Mendel, Albert Einstein, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of sciences in various fields. They used the scientific method in their writings, but did not disdain their beliefs and religion.

In my opinion, the Jewish Rabbi Asher Kushnir correctly said: “Religion and science study the same object, but in different planes: Science finds out how everything works, and religion explains why everything works.” I cannot but agree with this statement, because due to the imperfection of the scientific method, the latter cannot explain what religion explains, based on faith.

Roughly speaking, science can explain to you how an airplane flies, and religion - why and where you fly on it. The religious worldview does not deny scientific discoveries, on the contrary, empirical experiments in the field of science fully confirm the truth of religious dogmas. However, a reservation should be made here that the last statement is true only in relation to direct scientific experiments and research, and not to the scientific interpretation of scientists.

Let us also recall how the attitude towards religion in the USSR changed throughout. In the prewar years, all the few religious communities were under the strict control of the party, many denominations were banned, and the clergy were treated as a hidden counter-revolutionary force. And the people themselves supported the idea of ​​a non-religious state.

But by the time the fascist troops made their way deep into the country, there were no more obstacles to the opening of even non-Orthodox places of worship, be it churches, churches, temples or synagogues. Moreover, the Soviet government was forced to approve the return of the masses to the faith. In this case, the statement is true: "An atheist is before the first shaking in the plane."

There is an opinion that the religious worldview arose due to a lack of knowledge, the desire to explain various phenomena and processes. This is the main feature of religion: people must believe, but not blindly, not recklessly, but with reason. Because through “blind” faith, those who seek their own benefit have an impact.

In my opinion, the optimal use of a religious worldview is a set of views that can be confirmed by experience (including scientific) or research, with the belief that we are not given to understand, know, and comprehend due to our limitations.

So, in my opinion, the complete rejection of the peculiarities of the religious worldview causes damage to the general worldview. For religion offers an explanation for what neither science nor experience can explain to us.

© Maxim Teterin

Editing Andrey Puchkov

The concept of worldview, its structure and historical character. Types of worldview.

Religious worldview, its main characteristics. Types of religious worldview. The idea of ​​good and evil, the idea of ​​God.

outlook- a system of ideas about the world, man and their relationships. The main core element of the worldview is ideal, which expresses the ultimate goals of our activities, the general requirements of an individual, class or some community. The ideal expresses what is due and desired in the sphere of the economic, social and political life of society. By its nature, a worldview is a social-class phenomenon or a phenomenon that unites people into a certain group, the class determines their content and the direction of their development. Therefore, there is a class approach to understanding the nature of the worldview. It is scientific, not ideological. Based on the class theory of worldview in social science, historical forms of worldview, or historical forms of social consciousness, are distinguished, which are aimed at adequately reflecting social being or social life of a person:

− mythological consciousness

− religious consciousness

- philosophical consciousness.

The specificity of the mythological worldview

Mythological consciousness is the first form of existence and development of social and individual human consciousness. Each person begins his consciousness from the mythological, because this is a specific form of everyday consciousness (it is always based on the everyday life of a person). Mythology arose as a result of the separation of man from the natural world and is the result or form of existence of our inner world. It is based on a fundamental contradiction between good and evil. Evil is the first historical form awareness of the relationship of man with the environment. To understand the specifics of the mythological worldview, it is necessary to define the concepts of good and evil, which are the cornerstone factors of mythology. Evil is all the world, which opposes a person or a team to which human activity is directed. Good is the primary collective, consisting of ancestors, descendants and people living at a given time. These people are bound by an absolute principle (“a relative cannot in principle cause harm to a relative” - the main principle of the mythological worldview).

Fundamental Characteristics of Mythological Consciousness.

1. Mythological consciousness is inherently antagonistic, splits the world into 2 opposites (us and them) and serves as a means to find "scapegoats".

2. The mythological worldview is by its nature non-systemic, it never allocates time, and the mythological action always takes place only in space.

3. The mythological worldview is syncretic in nature. It does not divide the world into spheres of being: the divine, human and natural worlds.

4. The myth does not know the content, it is completely identified with the sign, that is, it is believed that everything that is present in the myth is real. Mythology always doubles the world (from reality it makes virtuality).

5. Mythological consciousness does not require faith, and this is the main drawback, the vice of mythology.

6. Mythology does not answer the question “why?” It does not investigate causes. The main mythological question: “How does one relate to this event? What to do with him?

7. Mythology - the ideology of the victorious man. She knows one type of person - a hero.

Functions of mythology in human life and society.

1. Unifying: mythology defines our common ancestor.

2. Determines the purpose of the development of this team, community. Gives an ideal to which everyone should aspire.

3. Gives examples of behavior.

4. Most importantly: mythology has created a subjective world: any mythology deepens the surrounding world, it introduces elements of the spiritual principle into it.

5. She stopped time and thus formed the inner life of a person, laying the foundations for understanding the family, clan, nation.

The specificity of the religious worldview

Mark Taylor writes: “Religious consciousness emerges from decaying mythology, when principles are destroyed: a relative cannot harm a relative, a community is destroyed, a person can only be sure of himself. The main contradiction religious consciousness is the struggle between good and evil. Good is understood as the individual himself, who opposes the universal evil of the world. Jean Paul Stewart: "How can a person survive in the universal ocean of evil?". There is only one answer: you need to enlist the support of a certain world principle that can neutralize evil. The world principle is a god whose nature is to do good. In the religious worldview, a person acts in unity with the world principle - God. True human activity- the activity of recreating connections or relationships with God.

Religious worldview is the activity of a person or society, seeking to restore some kind of spiritual connection with the absolute, in order to continue and determine their life.

Fundamental Characteristics of a Religious Worldview:

1. Religious worldview is always individual. It is religion that determines and shapes our individuality, because the area of ​​human activity is his inner world, and not the surrounding reality.

2. Rel.worldview knows only one type of worldview; a type of suffering individual whose activity is completely subordinated to the purification of the inner world through suffering.

3. The real worldview denies the mythological in that it introduces spheres of being, erects insurmountable boundaries.

4. Religion introduces the time factor for the first time. It recognizes only external time.

5. The real worldview exists and develops on the basis of the principle of hylozoism - the transfer of individual qualities of a person to natural and supernatural objects.

6. Unlike mythology, religion can exist through an act of faith.

7. Religious worldview is always dogmatic in its basis and intuitive in nature.

8. Religious knowledge is illusory, since the main subject of human activity is not the impact on the surrounding world, but the impact on the world principle - God.

Depending on what is meant by the world absolute: god / one's own essential “I” / personality / nation / class / thing in the form of a sacred relic, the entire religious worldview is divided into 3 forms:

− egocentric consciousness

− sociocentric consciousness

− cosmocentric

Egocentric - the desire of the individual to restore the lost connection with his essential "I", with his internal system of values, a person always lives by the principle: inside I am better than others say. A person always knows when he is doing evil and when he is doing good. When creating evil, we experience internal stress, which raises the question of the value of our consciousness. Egocentric consciousness is the internal activity of a person, which is based on the desire to assert one's individuality, this is the work of our self-esteem, which does not allow the devaluation of our personality.

“Self-esteem is the last bastion of our personality. By destroying self-esteem, we destroy our personality. The egocentric worldview is a universal worldview, it is a form of our individual salvation.

The sociocentric model is the desire of a person or part of society to create or restore a spiritual connection with a certain social absolute, which is based on the desire to supplement their missing forces and resources to a certain integrity.

Sociocentrism is a cult of personality, the desire of a person to imitate social idols. This is not a form of universal, but of individual self-consciousness.

Cosmocentric worldview - the desire of man and society to restore the lost connection with the world absolute, the creator of the universe. Depending on what is meant by god, there are three types:

· Theocentric consciousness - god-creator of the universe (Christianity, Judaism, etc.)

Pante…. - God "blurs" in nature (Buddhism)

Atheistic - instead of God, we put a man

Religion is aimed at development spiritual world, but in our world it has many meanings and manifests itself in the three forms described above.

The peculiarity of religious consciousness, first of all, is that it is aimed at the formation of a species, a specific individual. The religious worldview knows only one type of personality - a suffering person, the main significance of whose being is one's own spiritual development through suffering, empathy.

For many centuries, a sharp ideological struggle has been going on between scientific knowledge and religious faith. Science and religion, each separately, give people a certain set of views on the world around them, on the place of man in this world, understanding and evaluation of the surrounding reality. This set of views is called a worldview.

The worldview of a person, determining his approach to the objects and phenomena of the world, cannot but influence (sometimes very seriously) on all aspects of his life, on his work activity and spiritual needs. Hence the need to educate all Soviet people in a scientific, materialistic worldview, which makes it possible to correctly approach the phenomena of reality, to cognize them, to reveal the natural character of the development of nature and society, and to transform them in their own interests.

Solution of the main question of philosophy

The worldview of a person is determined primarily by how he decides the question of the relationship of thinking to being, consciousness to matter, the question of how our knowledge relates to the world around us - whether we can know it or not. This question is called the fundamental question of philosophy. Depending on how it is solved, the worldview can be materialistic or idealistic.

The scientific, materialistic worldview proceeds from the fact that being, matter is primary. Matter is the foundation that, in its development, generates consciousness and predetermines its development. Consciousness is secondary, derived from matter. In his mind, a person reflects the world around him.

Religious worldview solves this issue from opposite positions. A certain spiritual, non-material beginning is proclaimed primary. In all religions, this beginning is God, who has absolute wisdom and omnipotence, the creator and ruler of the world, in whose power are the fate of the world and mankind.

The materialistic worldview recognizes the knowability of the surrounding world. Man has access to the knowledge of the laws of development of nature and society, the essence of objects and phenomena of reality, which predetermines the possibility of transforming the world.

Religion, recognizing the existence of an almighty God, believes that a person can only know what God allows. Thus, a different solution to the basic question of philosophy determines a different approach to the world around us.

emergence religious beliefs

and scientific ideas

about the world

The worldview is nothing but a reflection of social being, the totality of material social relations that develop in the process of production of material goods. Therefore, all representations with which we. we meet in one or another worldview, are built on the basis of material taken from the very life of people; there is nothing in them that one way or another cannot be deduced from reality itself, does not reflect this reality. However, the form of reflection in the worldview can be different.

The scientific worldview reflects reality as it is. Its content is a set of ideas about the structure of the world and the laws of its development. The religious outlook also reflects earthly life people, but religion reproduces reality in a perverted, fantastically perverted form. In the religious view, the world is divided into the existing and the fictional one, while the earthly forces take on the form of unearthly ones. In religious images and ideas, people embody their aspirations, feelings, aspirations. Unbeknownst to themselves, they transfer to the surrounding world of nature their purely human properties and those relations that are inherent in the social life of people.

Defenders of religion argue that man has always been religious, he has always believed in the supernatural. However, numerous findings of scientists studying the life and culture of ancient peoples show that consciousness primitive man was free from any religious beliefs. From their animal ancestors, people could not inherit any religion. in their heads primitive people reflected only those processes that were associated with the extraction of food, with the manufacture of tools, etc.

The beginnings of religion began to form several tens of thousands of years ago. Experiencing enormous difficulties in the struggle for existence, fearing incomprehensible phenomena, man began to attribute supernatural meaning to the forces of nature. This perverse understanding of reality went through a series of stages in its development and eventually led to the emergence of modern religions.

Our distant ancestors were not only powerless in the face of formidable natural phenomena, such as floods and storms, but also helpless in relation to everyday phenomena, had no protection from the cold, lived under the threat of hunger. Man had at his disposal only the simplest tools, made of stone or wood. In search of food, people were forced to constantly change the place of their camps. Whether tomorrow and the day after tomorrow they will have food - this largely depended on luck in the hunt. At every step, other dangers threatened a person: an attack by a predatory beast, a lightning strike, a forest fire ...

Not knowing the natural causes of natural phenomena, not understanding what is happening around them, people began to spiritualize the objects and forces of nature, endowing them with supernatural properties. They considered various favorable phenomena to be good, and those that brought illness, hunger, death, on the contrary, were considered evil. Later, people began to imagine these phenomena in the form of powerful beings - spirits, demons, etc.

Deified man and animals. Fish were deified among people who were mainly engaged in fishing. With the transition to agriculture and the domestication of animals in primitive society, gods appeared in the form of a pig, a dog and other domestic animals, from whom people expected help in their economic life.

The fact that our ancestors once spiritualized the phenomena of nature is evidenced, for example, by such facts. Negritos of the Andaman Islands (in the Indian Ocean), standing on a very low step community development, and now believe that the Sun, Moon and stars are living supernatural beings. V. K. Arseniev tells about the personification of animals in his famous book “In the wilds of the Ussuri region”. Dersu Uzala, a Nanai, when asked why he calls wild boars people, replied: “It’s all the same people, only the shirt is different. Deceive understand, get angry understand, understand all around. It's still people." The Nanaets considered fire, water, and the forest to be alive – along with fantastic, perverted ideas about the world around us, humanity also accumulated positive knowledge. The practical needs of people, the desire to achieve better living conditions forced them to fight against nature. In the process of this struggle, a person gradually had more and more observations, experiences. Faced with the elements of nature and experiencing their power, people wanted to know what caused the harmful action of natural forces, why it is sometimes favorable and sometimes destructive, whether it is possible to subordinate it to one's will and control it. People were faced with questions about what the surrounding reality is and what is the place of a person in it. By carefully observing their surroundings, they found the real causes of various natural phenomena. Thus the beginnings of science were born.

Many centuries before the beginning of our reckoning in Babylonia, in Ancient Egypt and China, constant observations of the starry sky were carried out, the picture of which changes depending on the time of year and day. The economic life of these countries needed accurate calendar. It was necessary to know when the time for sowing, the rainy season, would come. This was determined by observing the positions of the Moon, Sun, and stars in the sky. In Egypt, for example, sowing work was carried out immediately after the flood of the Nile ended. The Egyptians found that the harbinger of the flood of the river is bright Star Sirius when she appears in the early morning in the east. Studying the movement celestial bodies, people thousands of years ago learned how to make calendars, predict solar and lunar eclipses.

For many thousands of years there was a gradual accumulation of the first scientific knowledge person. In ancient Egypt and Babylonia, India and China, mathematics and astronomy were born, and some information related to chemistry and medicine appeared. At the same time, the beginnings of mechanics, agronomy, and biological sciences arose.

Unlike religion, which is based on blind faith in what is written in "sacred" books and cannot be proven, science relies on proven facts, on experience, observation, on a comprehensive study of natural phenomena and social life. Every scientific conclusion is rigorously tested and proven. Science does not tell us: here is a complete, complete picture of the world, in which everything is clear and nothing can be added or changed, nature should not be studied further. So declares a religion that calls for blind faith in biblical myths. No, says science, much in nature has not yet been known, much we do not yet know fully enough. The learning process is endless. The nature of scientific knowledge of the world around us is such that any knowledge is not acquired all at once, but in parts. But they more and more accurately reflect the reality that exists independently of our consciousness.

The knowledge acquired by science is constantly refined, expanded, deepened, and science develops, preserving and using everything previously known to us. Old knowledge is largely confirmed by new, improved, becoming more complete, more accurate. And some things are completely discarded. This is the way of development of science.

About 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece the materialistic doctrine of atoms as "bricks of the universe" was born. All bodies of nature are composed of these smallest particles. Atoms are eternal, unchanging, indivisible. They differ from each other in their size and shape. So said the thinkers of the past.

In the past century, it was found that there are several dozen (about 100) varieties of atoms in the world; atoms differ not only in their weight and size, but also in their chemical properties, i.e., the ability to enter into various chemical compounds with other particles. Then in late XIX early 20th century science has discovered radioactive atoms that break down over time. It also turned out that atoms can be divided, since they consist of other, even smaller, so-called elementary particles of matter - electrons, protons and neutrons.

Thus, over many centuries of the development of science, the doctrine of atoms has changed in many ways. But these changes did not reject the doctrine itself, but only supplemented and deepened it with more and more new knowledge. The ancient atomists could not explore the depths of atoms in order to establish their internal structure. Scientists of antiquity laid only the foundations of atomism, which subsequently gradually developed

This is how any science develops. From the first, still far from complete and inaccurate knowledge, it gradually goes to the fact that our knowledge about this or that natural phenomenon is becoming deeper, more precise, wider. Science is not afraid to discard outdated ideas. This religion invites people to stubbornly hold on to old, long refuted views.

Scientific and religious outlook on the knowledge of the world

The scientific worldview recognizes the possibility of knowing the surrounding world, that is, the correct and deep reflection of reality in the human head. Without this, a person would not be able to adapt to the conditions of his life, would not be able to change reality in the direction he needed. The truth of people's knowledge about the surrounding world is tested and confirmed by practice. At the same time, truth is achieved in the course of an endless process of cognition, when a person comes closer and closer to a complete and comprehensive reflection of reality, that is, to absolute truth.

Defenders of religion, trying to discredit the scientific worldview, declare that it contradicts itself: on the one hand, it claims that a person knows reality, and on the other hand, it turns out that we will never fully know this reality. IN this case we are faced with a dialectical contradiction. Firstly, the scientific worldview does not deny that a person also possesses some absolute truths (in particular, that matter exists objectively, i.e., regardless of consciousness, that matter is primary, and consciousness is secondary, that the world cognizable, etc.). Secondly, despite the fact that a person cannot completely and completely reflect the world at once, he cognizes it in parts, gradually. Knowing the relative truth, he at the same time knows the absolute truth, since absolute truth is composed of the sum of relative truths and therefore in each relative truth there is a share of absolute truth.

Theologians distinguish between two possible objects of knowledge: firstly, this is the knowledge of "revealed truths" and, secondly, the knowledge of the material world. As for the first object of knowledge, its source is the revelation of God, embodied in " scriptures”, “visions” of saints, etc. Perceiving the alleged revelations of God, discovering the meaning hidden in them, people learn the truths that make up religious teachings.

Part of the defenders of religion admits that objects religious knowledge, i.e., the area of ​​the supernatural, can at certain points come into contact with the area of ​​knowledge of the visible material world. From this it is concluded that the knowledge of one area can be carried out through the knowledge of another. In particular, since a picture of material reality is revealed in the revelations of God, to the extent that, they say, by studying these revelations, a person at the same time cognizes the material world itself. Thus, nature and social life are “studied” by religion not directly, but indirectly: through God, through the study of his revelations. As for the direct knowledge of the world of material objects, from the point of view of religion, man himself is powerless to know the material world. He can do this only with the permission of God and only with his help. As one of the "fathers of the church" said, blessed Augustine, "all knowledge springs from divine insight, truth human mind receives from God.

Religion tends to regard man's knowledge of the material world as of little value, essentially unnecessary and even harmful. “After Christ, we do not need any curiosity; after the Gospel, no research is needed,” said Tertullian, a prominent figure in Christianity. The Bible warns people: "Seek not the mysterious, search not the hidden"; “Increasing knowledge, you increase sorrow.” However, the historical process and the growth of the prestige of science connected with it compels the defenders of religion to mask the true relation of religion to knowledge at the present time. Now some theologians are trying to present the matter in such a way that the deeper a person penetrates into the secrets of nature, the more he finds in it evidence confirming the existence of God. The “theoretical” justification of the clergy in this case boils down to the fact that nature is the creation of God, is the embodiment of his wisdom, and therefore, knowing nature, a person in some way knows God himself, his wisdom, omnipotence, etc. Similar attempts by churchmen to direct the process of cognition of the material world in the right direction for themselves are refuted scientific discoveries: they too obviously contradict religious "truths".

The relation of the scientific and religious worldview to reason

The scientific worldview inevitably relies on explanations of reality from the standpoint of reason. Religion takes the opposite position in relation to the reasonable, rational. It is incompatible with the requirements of reason, irrational in its essence. Where blind faith reigns supreme, there is no room for reason.

Theology seeks to justify religious irrationalism. “Even in nature, in the created world,” writes one of the modern theologians, “a person encounters phenomena that seem absurd to him from the point of view of the rational, the more the natural limitation of rational thinking in the realm of the spirit manifests itself.” It is impossible not to notice that in this case the clergy are trying to play on a mixture of completely different things. The fact is that the "absurdity" of the phenomena of reality encountered by science is apparent. The deepening of the level of human knowledge about the world eventually leads to the elucidation of the true and, moreover, natural causes of these phenomena. As for religious assumptions, their absurdity is real and no deepening of knowledge in the future can turn it into “non-absurdity”.

Another argument in defense of religious irrationalism is the reference to the fact that supposedly even "scientific theories can never be completely free from propositions taken on faith." But after all, it is one thing to have an unfounded, unproven belief in the existence of such forces and phenomena that contradict nature itself, its essence, and another thing is the confidence of a scientist based on knowledge of the laws of development of reality, confidence based on scientific calculation.

Every worldview is that general theory by which people are guided in their everyday practical life. Giving a person a correct idea of ​​the world, the scientific worldview thereby helps him to orient himself in the environment, to correctly find ways of approaching further knowledge and transformation of reality. Guided by a scientific worldview, people subjugate the elemental forces of nature, becoming, thanks to this, its true masters.

In the field of social science, the scientific worldview helps the working people to realize their role in the development of social life, to understand the real ways of destroying the exploiting world and building a classless society. Thus, the scientific worldview is a powerful weapon in the hands of man, with the help of which he cognizes and transforms the world.

Religious worldview plays an opposite role in society. It is undeniable that the believer sees in the religious worldview a guide for liberation from oppressive circumstances. But, hoping for the help of religion, a person actually dooms himself to spiritual slavery, because religion does not free him from oppressive circumstances, but perpetuates their inviolability. The religious worldview leads a person along the wrong path, leads him away from identifying and knowing the true causes that give rise to injustice, social inequality and other undesirable phenomena. It teaches us to look for these reasons not in earthly life, but in the will of supernatural forces. At the same time, it forces a person to place all his hopes exclusively on these forces, which in reality do not exist. Thus, the religious worldview actually contributes to the preservation in earthly life of those oppressive circumstances from which a person tries to free himself with the help of religion.

Concretizing this provision, we turn to two major problems. One of the central problems of mankind, which brought religion to life, was the struggle against the elemental forces of nature. Religion was called upon, as it were, to supplement the strength of man in this struggle. Being unable to conquer the world with the help of real means, a person "conquered" it in his mind with the help of imagination. Such an illusion of conquering the world only reinforced the impotence of man.

On the other hand, scientific knowledge of the surrounding world has given and is giving man ever greater opportunities for transforming nature for his own purposes, for the wide use of its powerful forces in the interests of human society.

All religions teach: wait for God's mercy, ask for it - and you will be rewarded, if not here on earth, then definitely in the next world, after death. However, the practical activity of people has long and convincingly refuted religious reasoning that a person "without God - not to the threshold." Even deeply religious people cannot fail to understand that a person armed with knowledge is the master of nature. His power is evident to all. He not only learns the laws by which nature lives, but also controls the forces of nature, more and more uses them for his own purposes.

Human society developed the faster, the further it went along the path of conquering nature, improving and creating more and more new tools, mastering new materials. And this required knowledge. From crude stone tools to the most complex modern machines and mechanisms, from the age of stone and wood to the era of synthetic materials, from helplessness before the forces of nature to its bold transformation - this was the path of development of human society. And the first assistant to people on this path was science.

A striking example of our ability to transform nature is the achievements of chemical science. This science makes it possible to make the most expedient and economical use of natural resources, to turn natural raw materials coal, oil, and agricultural waste into a wide variety of industrial products. Looking at the durable and elegant fabric, it is difficult to imagine that it is made of natural gas. Meanwhile, this is an ordinary, ordinary achievement of chemical science. Perfume and soap - from coal. Plastic machine parts, which are not inferior in strength to metal ones, are made from corn cobs. Fur coat - from products of oil refining. Rubber - from sawdust ... It is impossible to list everything that chemistry has revealed to us, the science of the "cutting edge" of technological progress.

Its importance in agriculture is also great. Chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, growth substances provide high, guaranteed yields. Academician D.N. Pryanishnikov calculated that by introducing organic and mineral fertilizers in abundance into the soil, it is possible to increase production Agriculture six to seven times.

Another problem that has always worried the minds of mankind is the problem of liberating people from social evil. Religion cannot get around this issue. But what path does she suggest?

The failure of countless attempts by a man crushed by need and grief to escape from his oppressive circumstances gave rise to a religious position that a person is not able to eliminate social evil by his own efforts, that the existence of the latter is predetermined by the will of a deity who thus punished people for their sins. Thus, religion removed the responsibility for all the disasters of people from the socio-economic and political system, from the exploiting classes. And this inevitably contributed to the preservation of the world of exploitation and oppression.

Religion promises the liberation of people from earthly hardships in the other world, in the "kingdom of God", where allegedly only a person can find true happiness. Since all the troubles on earth, by religious beliefs, sent down by God as a test of a person in his fidelity and love for the creator, insofar as one should not try to eliminate evil. So religion and its ministers objectively contribute to the preservation of social injustice.

Science and religion about the development of society

The materialist understanding of history proceeds from the fact that the cause of social development must be sought not outside, but within society itself. This reason lies in the conditions of the material life of people. And main force that determines social development is the mode of production of material goods.

The mode of production consists of productive forces (people producing material goods, tools of labor, means of production) and production relations (that is, those relations that develop between people in the course of their production activities). One of the characteristics of the productive forces is that they are constantly being improved and developed. The relations of production depend on the productive forces. With the development of the latter, they are eventually replaced by new ones, those that correspond to the increased level of productive forces.

The totality of production relations is the economic basis of society, above which rise other social relations (relations in the field of politics, national relations, etc.), philosophical, legal and other views and institutions corresponding to them. Changes in the base entail changes in the superstructure. As a result, society as a whole is moving to a new, higher stage of its development.

Historical materialism proceeds from the fact that the development of society is a natural, objective process. Of course, since in the exploiting world there are always classes interested in preserving the old order, the establishment of a new socio-economic formation depends on how soon the progressive forces of society are able to overcome the resistance of the reactionary classes. However, a new social structure must inevitably arise (sooner or later - that is another question). By developing productive forces, carrying out the process of production of material goods, overcoming the resistance of obsolete social forces through the class struggle, people thereby contribute to the development of society. Thus, the objective necessity of social development is translated into reality as a result of the practical activity of people, primarily the working masses.

Religious worldview in resolving the issue of social development adheres to the opposite, idealistic point of view. It sees the root cause of all phenomena of social life in God, in his will. People cannot change the course of history predetermined by God. They are only a toy in the hands of the deity, fate. God uses them to carry out his will. This shows that the religious worldview stands on the positions of fatalism.

True, religion admits that people are endowed with some independence. They allegedly can even produce certain changes in public life. However, their actions are ultimately determined by the divine will. The success of these actions depends only on how people's behavior is "God-pleasing", how much it coincides with the "divine plan".

As you know, some revolutionary movements took place and are taking place under religious slogans. How can this be explained? The answer was given by F. Engels. This happens where there is dominance, the predominance of the religious worldview. The working masses, influenced by religion, do not see other forms of social consciousness through which they can express their revolutionary aspirations. They are looking for those aspects in religion, statements that can be relied upon in revolutionary activity, while digressing from the reactionary essence of religious dogmas. Thus, religion is here only a forced form in which the revolution is carried out. Moreover, religion in this case inevitably slows down the process of revolutionary transformations.

The fact that religion and its teachings are not the main cause of revolutionary upheavals is also evidenced by the fact that both revolutionaries and reactionaries profess the same religion.

Recently, some clergy have come out against the ugly phenomena of social life, in particular against the imperialist policy of unleashing war, against colonialism. But these speeches, no matter how they are justified by references to the "teaching of Christ" and the statements of the "fathers of the church", can only be explained by those serious shifts in the public consciousness of the peoples that are caused by the successes of the forces of socialism and progress in the world arena.

Worldview and specific sciences

The scientific worldview derives the general principles of the structure of the world and the laws of its development, based on the data of specific sciences, generalizing these data. However, the relationship between the scientific worldview and specific sciences is not one-sided. In turn, the scientific worldview equips specific sciences with a general theory of the structure of the world, scientific method knowledge and transformation of reality. This allows specific sciences to more successfully reveal the secrets of the material world. Such a two-way connection between the scientific worldview and specific sciences is evidence of their relationship: both relate to the concept of "science".

The religious worldview, unlike the scientific one, claims to directly reflect the world, bypassing the data of specific sciences. It considers the revelations of God as the source of its views on the world. This rejection of connection with specific sciences is one of the reasons why the religious worldview is a perverted reflection of reality. Religion proclaims the revelations of God as the source of its views on the world. But as the analysis of these revelations shows, they reflected the primitive ideas of people of the distant past.

Having sanctified the primitive views of the man of the past, passing them off as a revelation of God, religion thereby opposed itself to science, which is constantly developing, refining and deepening our knowledge of the objective world. Therefore, for many centuries the church waged a merciless struggle against science.

Time has not changed the hostile attitude of the religious worldview towards science. However, in modern conditions, when the authority of science, despite all the efforts of the church, has become indisputable for most people, the defenders of religion have largely changed their position. At present, only the most conservative strata of the clergy continue to categorically deny science. As for the rest, they, taking into account the spirit of the times, announce their recognition of the natural sciences, but in return demand that these sciences do not draw atheistic conclusions from their discoveries and, moreover, that they serve the faith, proving the existence of God.

Another "innovation" is the assertion that religion and science have their own special areas of study: science is what is accessible to the human senses, religion is the area of ​​the supernatural, the area of ​​the soul. It is easy to see in this an attempt to revive the theory of dual truth.

At one time, the theory of dual truth was of a progressive nature, since it reflected the fact that science had won the right to independent development, independent of the church. Today it is designed to protect religion from the destructive influence of science.

The failure of the theory of dual truth is obvious. Life itself has proved that science is capable of penetrating into any secrets of the universe, that scientific research has no boundaries.

Science and religion about the structure of the universe

A characteristic feature of the religious doctrine of the structure of the universe is its anthropocentrism. The essence of anthropocentrism (from the Greek anth-ropos - “man”) boils down to the fact that man is the crown of God's creation, the ultimate goal of God. Therefore, everything that exists in the world was created by God for the sake of man.

Religious anthropocentrism is directly related to geocentrism, according to which the habitat of people, i.e. the Earth, is the center of the universe. “Just as man was created for the sake of God, in order to serve him,” wrote one of the theologians of the Middle Ages, “so the universe was created for the sake of man, in order to serve him; therefore man is placed at the center of the universe.” Around this "center", which is motionless, the heavenly bodies revolve.

For centuries, theologians have preached and defended geocentrism, upholding the permanence of this distorted view of the universe. Geocentric views were born in times far from us and were primarily due to the low level of knowledge of our distant ancestors.

In the distant past, man knew only a small world that he saw with his own eyes. All the first ideas about the universe reflected the idea: the Earth is the basis of the world.

And the sky? It was not available for study, and people believed religious statements that the sky is a different world, in no way similar to the "sinful earth", the world is eternal, unchanging and perfect - the world in which the gods live. Only the development of scientific data on the stellar universe has gnawed man's eyes on the world around him.

The study of nature shows us that there is no other world than the world of infinite matter, naturally developing in time and space; there are no supernatural, non-material forces in the world, everything that exists in it is generated by moving matter. So, studying the composition of various bodies on Earth, scientists have found that a variety of things, objects, organisms consist of a few simple substances - chemical elements: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, etc. Combining with each other in various combinations, they give all the diversity of the world. All the dead bodies of nature and all living organisms are composed of the same substances. And this is understandable. After all, there is no insurmountable line between living organisms and inanimate nature. The living conditions of plant and animal organisms, their nutrition are determined by the environment in which they exist. The living world exists, develops among inanimate nature in close connection with it. Much accurate, reliable information is now known about the nature of other celestial bodies in the universe. From time to time, "heavenly stones" - pieces of cosmic matter - meteorites, fall to the Earth. The study of these stones shows that they not only do not contain unknown chemical elements, but are also similar in composition to our terrestrial rocks. The solar system, which includes the Earth and other planets, is only a small part of a huge star system - a galaxy, in which, according to scientists, there are more than 100 billion stars. Our galaxy is just a "stellar island" in the boundless ocean of the universe.

The study of the chemical composition of the Sun, stars, comets also confirms the material unity of the universe. All celestial bodies are made up of the same chemical elements that make up the bodies on Earth. For example, hydrogen, helium, carbon, sodium, iron and other elements have been found on the Sun. The stars and planets of the solar system are composed of these substances.

The diversity of the universe is inexhaustible. The world space is filled with the smallest particles of matter, and huge celestial bodies, and giant stellar associations. There is no limit to the diversity of natural bodies. But no matter what we meet in the world, all these are just various forms of a single changing matter, apart from which nothing in the universe exists. Therefore, materialist philosophers say that the unity of the world consists in its materiality.

There are no two worlds in nature that are not similar in anything - earthly and heavenly. There is only one world - the universe, space. We live in it. Like all other bodies of the universe, our Earth is in space, in the universe. Studying nature, science also came to another very important conclusion: no matter what changes are made in the world around us, it never destroys or arises from nothing the substance that composes the celestial and other bodies of nature. Matter cannot be created or destroyed. This is the great, absolute law of nature. It is confirmed by all our practice, all science. Not in any natural phenomenon, in any physical or chemical experiment, do we observe a case where matter completely disappears or arises from nothing.

Constantly changing, taking on new forms, it never disappears without a trace. Matter has always existed and will exist forever. From this it is clear that all ancient tales about the creation of the world are false. To speak of the "beginning" or "end" of the universe is to deny the whole science of nature, to deny the laws of nature.

The centuries-old study of nature indisputably shows that its phenomena are regular, each has its own natural material causes. The source of patterns in nature is matter itself, which is in perpetual motion, development. And the laws of nature cannot be violated, canceled by anyone. Therefore, there are no and cannot be any miracles in the world. Everywhere in nature, the laws of the development of matter operate, and not a single phenomenon can occur contrary to these laws. The whole infinite universe is a world without miracles, in which there is no place for supernatural forces, there is no place for God.

The unity of the world around us lies not only in the fact that it is material, that there is nothing in it except matter that is eternally changing in its development, but also in the fact that the phenomena of nature are in close mutual connection, in close interaction. The universal connection of phenomena, their mutual conditioning is confirmed by all the discoveries of science, our whole life, practice. If we consider this or that phenomenon of nature without connection with other phenomena, it cannot be understood. An isolated phenomenon will seem mysterious, incomprehensible, wonderful. For example, a person sees a rare phenomenon - an eclipse of the Sun. Without the connection of this phenomenon with other phenomena, with the movement of celestial bodies, an eclipse will seem like an incomprehensible riddle. But if we consider this phenomenon in close connection with other phenomena, with what we know about the structure of the universe and about the laws of motion of celestial bodies, then the reason solar eclipse becomes clear, there will be no trace left of the riddle.

If there were no regular alternation of phenomena in the world around us, our whole life, labor activity would be complete chaos. No one could know what this or that labor, this or that phenomenon could lead to. Spring could be followed by summer, then winter again. Snow would melt either at 0 or at 20 degrees, and so on. In reality, this does not and cannot happen, because everywhere in nature we are faced with the regularity of phenomena.

Of course, we do not always see regular, causal connections in nature, we do not always notice how dependent this or that phenomenon is on others. And this is quite understandable. The mutual connection of phenomena in nature is very complex. One and the same phenomenon, its development very often depends on many other natural phenomena, on many reasons. The task of science is precisely to find those essential connections between phenomena, objects that necessarily cause any particular natural phenomenon, to study the laws according to which one natural phenomenon inevitably causes another. Well, if there are no violations of laws in nature, then there is no miracle itself.

Science and religion about the origin and essence of man

According to religious beliefs, a person appeared as a result of a one-time act divine creation. It was created immediately in a finished, finished form. Man is "a creature essentially different from all other earthly creatures and incomparably higher than them ... the image and likeness of God."

The scientific worldview, based on the data of specific sciences, rejects these religious conjectures. Science provides a number of indisputable evidence of the relationship of the anatomical features of the structure of the human body and animals. Particularly close is the relationship between humans and great apes, which have a lot of common features. Already in itself, the multitude of common features of the anthropoid ape and man leads to the conclusion that there is no reason to single out man in a special world from the general world of animals.

However, scientists now have at their disposal a lot of material evidence of human animal origin. Since the last century, the remains of our distant ancestors have been found in various parts of the globe. Their anatomical structure most convincingly indicates that man came out of the animal kingdom. Australopithecus (that is, southern monkeys) stood at the origins of the human race, which gradually, over millions of years, turned into ape-men.

The decisive role in this process was played by labor, social and labor activity. “Only thanks to labor ... - wrote F. Engels, - the human hand has reached that high level of perfection, at which it could, as if by magic, bring to life the paintings of Raphael, the statues of Thorvaldsen, the music of Paganini” (Marx K., Engels F. Works, vol. 20, p. 488).

The further a person developed, the more decisive for his further formation the social factor became. In contrast to religious doctrine, which considers a person outside of time, outside of a specific historical situation, the scientific worldview proceeds from the fact that there is no person at all, that each person is a product of his era, that he embodies the social relations that prevail in a given society. By changing the conditions of the material life of society, in other words, by changing his social being, a person thereby changes his essence.

Trying to discredit the scientific worldview, theologians argue that it belittles the importance of man, because it reduces him to the category of animals. In fact, the scientific worldview has always emphasized and emphasizes the qualitative differences between man and animal. The most important of these differences are labor activity, speech and thinking. If the animal passively adapts to nature, then man actively changes it in his own interests.

Scientific foresight and religious prophecy

Science not only comprehends the secrets of the universe, but also foresees the future, predicts certain phenomena of nature and social life. Scientific foresight is based on knowledge of the laws of development of the material world. Consciousness does not passively reflect reality: it analyzes the phenomena of the objective world, captures regularities behind random facts and phenomena.

All phenomena of nature and society have their own natural causes, obey certain laws. The world is a single, inseparable whole. The phenomena around us are inextricably linked with each other. Some phenomena are caused by others and themselves in turn cause new phenomena.

Knowing their origin and development, studying their mutual connections, we find out the essence and causes of what is happening, we establish what this or that phenomenon depends on, what causes it. At the same time, we will learn how and in what sequence various phenomena follow one another, when and under what conditions they repeat.

Having found out the internal necessary connections of various phenomena, we establish patterns in nature. Having studied individual things and phenomena, we find common aspects in them, highlight the most significant, stable features. Then generalizing them, we discover and find the objective laws that govern the course of phenomena in nature and society.

History knows many examples of scientific foresight.

So, for example, having studied in detail the patterns of movement of celestial bodies, scientists identify the paths of movement of comets and, on the basis of this, making mathematical calculations, determine in advance where this or that comet will be at one time or another. Thus, the English scientist Halley predicted that a comet that appeared near the Sun in 1682 would again be visible in the sky in about 76 years. And the French mathematician Clairaut, having made more accurate calculations, determined a more accurate date for the appearance of this comet. He was wrong by only one month.

In 1846, by means of mathematical calculations, on the basis of knowledge of the laws of nature, scientists discovered a previously unknown planet - Neptune. F. Engels called this discovery a scientific feat. The solar system of Copernicus, he wrote, for 300 years remained a hypothesis, highly probable, but still a hypothesis. When Leverrier, on the basis of the data of this system, not only proved that there must be another hitherto unknown planet, but also determined by calculation the place occupied by it in celestial space, and when after that the German astronomer Halle actually found this planet, the Copernican system has been proven.

Studying the history of the Earth, geologists have discovered the laws by which accumulations of minerals are formed in the earth's crust. Knowing these laws, one can foresee where, in combination with what rocks, deposits of one or another mineral, natural fuel, ore and gas should be located. The well-known Soviet geologist I. M. Gubkin studied the patterns of oil deposits for many years. He found that the formation of oil deposits is associated with a certain structure of the layers of the earth's crust. Based on his findings, the scientist predicted that large oil reserves should be located in the area between the Volga and the Urals. The geological studies of the bowels of this region, carried out after the death of Gubkin, brilliantly confirmed his scientific prediction.

The possibility of scientific foresight extends to the full extent to the sphere of people's social life. Having deeply studied the laws of social development, Marx and Engels proved that the development of society will inevitably lead mankind to communism. They showed that the point here is not just in the wishes of people, but in an objective pattern. Private property has outlived itself. Production has become fully public. And this requires the replacement of private property and private form of distribution - public.

Foresight is a constant factor in the social life of people. It is the condition for their success. With the deepening of knowledge of the objective world, the field of phenomena that can be predicted expands.

Individual predictions that are not related to the distant future and are not of a deep nature can be made by a person on the basis of experience that is not scientifically meaningful. Predictions of this kind are based on the observation of the constancy of the connection of certain events, although causal relationships are not established. For example, there is a popular sign: if swallows fly low above the ground, then it will rain. This observation is confirmed by experience. To explain the connection between these two events, there are not enough intermediate links, namely, that before the rain the air pressure changes, its humidity rises, while the insects sink lower to the surface of the earth, and after them swallows rush that feed on these insects. Thus, many folk omens based on a correct, albeit superficial, reflection of reality.

In contrast, superstitious signs connect such phenomena with each other that are not actually connected by cause-and-effect relationships. Prediction based on such signs is a deception or self-deception, which is supported only by random coincidences.

For successful scientific foresight, one must know well the most general laws of the development of nature and society, be guided by such a method of cognizing reality that allows one to correctly evaluate and generalize the phenomena of nature and society. This gives us Marxism-Leninism - the highest achievement philosophical thought in the history of human society.

Only in this way do we get the opportunity to foresee what will happen under certain conditions in the life of nature, in the life of human society. And the deeper and more accurate the knowledge of objective laws, independent of our consciousness, according to which nature lives, develops human society The better, more fully we reveal the causes of phenomena, the more reliable our predictions are, the more accurately they come true.

The speculation of religion on the unresolved questions of science

The true relationship of religion to truth is quite clearly manifested in its assessment of the unresolved issues of science.

Referring to the facts, when science was not yet able to solve this or that problem, the defenders of religion try to prove that science cannot be completely relied upon, that there are problems that science is powerless to solve, since these problems often belong more to the sphere of religion, than science. In this regard, the example of revealing the essence of a person's spiritual life is very indicative.

For a long time, science could not correctly solve the question of what constitutes the mental activity of people. If in the world of material things and phenomena it was clear where to look for the reason for their explanations, then here in the field of the spiritual life of people it was necessary to find a different approach. Religion took advantage of this. She declared the area of ​​the spiritual life of people a special area, not subject to earthly laws. Therefore, allegedly, science suffers an inevitable failure here. The spiritual life of people, according to theologians, can be correctly explained only from religious positions. Namely: the essence of man has a dual nature: firstly, it is his immortal soul and second, the mortal, material body. Man receives his soul from God. It does not depend on the mortal body. Moreover, the soul, having moved into the body, makes it alive, controls the body. The soul predetermines the independence of man from nature, his free will, his mental abilities, his main individual traits. And when it separates from the body to move into other world a man dies, his body decays.

But such an interpretation of mental phenomena is rejected by all the data of science. The only source of all mental phenomena is our brain. Our sensations and ideas about the world around us, our consciousness, thinking are the result of the work of the brain. Without his activity there is no psyche, no consciousness. When the human brain stops working, consciousness disappears, all mental (or spiritual) activity ceases. The Russian thinker A. I. Herzen said that to believe in the existence of a soul separable from the body means to believe that properties can be separated from a thing, to consider, for example, that a black cat ran away from the room, but the black color remained from it.

What people have called the soul for many thousands of years is nothing but the activity of the brain, our consciousness. The Russian scientist I.M. Sechenov in the last century, studying the brain, proved that the so-called soul is not something independent, unknowable in our body. Its material organ is the brain. And the work of the brain as a material organ can be studied. The scientist outlined the results of his scientific research in the book "Reflexes of the Brain". This book opened a new page in the study of the mental (mental) activity of man.

The ideas of I. M. Sechenov about the mental activity of man were developed by the famous physiologist I. P. Pavlov. His doctrine of higher nervous activity completely destroyed faith in the "divine soul." The spinal cord and brain - our central nervous system - regulates the entire vital activity of the body, controls the work of all parts of our body - In it the main role belongs to the brain. Every moment it receives many different excitations - signals about what is happening inside the body and in the environment. Signals come along the nerve fibers from all organs of the body. In response to them, feedback signals from the brain go through the nerves, orders that regulate the functioning of the body. The response activity of the body, carried out with the help of the nervous system, is called a reflex.

A rare case is known: a child was born without cerebral hemispheres. He lived for about five years. During this time, he learned nothing, did not recognize anyone and did not speak.

In medicine, the facts are also well studied when a damaged brain, for example, when injured, stops working normally. At the same time, a person loses everything that is supposedly connected with his soul. He stops talking and thinking. This means that all the mental abilities of a person do not depend on some unknown soul, independent of the body, but on the brain.

Science has convincingly shown that the spiritual activity of people is based on material processes occurring in the human brain, that the psyche, which religion passes off as a manifestation of the soul, is causally conditioned by the external material world. The mental activity of people is also subject to objective laws, it is controlled by the material world.

The doctrine of higher nervous activity made it possible to explain with scientific point view many of the phenomena with which religion tried to prove the truth of their provisions. In particular, such phenomena as dreams, hypnosis, self-hypnosis and "miraculous healings" based on it have ceased to be mysterious.

Clinging to only individual phenomena of mental life, theologians are trying to prove that if the field of mental phenomena is largely explained by science, this does not mean that it can explain exclusively all the phenomena of the spiritual life of people. They argue that there is an area of ​​spiritual life where religion still dominates. In this regard, today among the defenders of religion, the point of view is widespread, according to which the essence of a person is composed not of two, but of three constituent parts. Namely: body, soul and spirit, which, as it were, complements the soul. Under the concept of "spirit" in this case, the highest mental abilities of a person, his mind, are summed up.

At the same time, it is “forgotten” that science is not able to immediately fully reflect the world. It goes from the disclosure of less complex phenomena of reality to the disclosure of its more complex aspects, it goes from the knowledge of the essence of the first order to the essence of the second order, etc. Therefore, there is no reason to question the power of science and try to speculate on its unresolved issues. . What is unclear to science in the present will be clarified in the future. The validity of this statement is proved by the entire development of science.

In every discovery, in every law, in every property of inexhaustible matter, are hidden still unknown to us on this stage knowledge features, traits, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the phenomenon. Surveying the world around us from the heights of modern science, we see more and more clearly the essence of the processes occurring in nature, better than before, we understand the complex dialectics of its development, the depth of its content. But we still have questions that need to be answered. This is the very essence of scientific knowledge.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky said very well about this: “After all, no one can read the whole book of nature from beginning to end! That is the purpose of being: to read it as much as possible, to read as far as possible. The more we turn the pages, the more interesting and gratifying it is for everything that exists and thinks.

Here, the fundamental line between science and religion is especially visible - the world around us can be studied, explored, getting to know its phenomena more and more deeply, or we can take on faith all those dogmas that, having arisen in the era of infancy of human thought, are presented by religion as "truths in the last authorities."

The contradictions of the religious worldview

Any religious worldview is inherently contradictory. Contradictions can be both internal, inherent in the internal structure of a religious dogma, when one religious position contradicts another, and external, when religious provisions contradict reality itself.

The inconsistency of the religious worldview is due to a number of circumstances, which, in particular, include the fact that any religious doctrine, in essence, was not created by one person and not in a short time. It absorbed elements of other religious beliefs, often contradictory. These elements reflected the extremely low level of development of social life, primitivism and the wretchedness of people's ideas about the world.

It is also necessary to keep in mind the fact that, once having arisen, religious positions acquire sanctity and, due to this, become inviolable (since religion claims only absolute truth in its final instance). And what was once passed off as "divine" truth must remain unshakable so as not to undermine the religious doctrine of the infallibility and absolute wisdom of God. Therefore, when, thanks to the discoveries of science, religious provisions found their inconsistency, religion could not abandon outdated ideas about the reality surrounding man. She defends these incorrect views, allowing herself sometimes only an allegorical interpretation of the obviously absurd provisions of religious teaching.

The internal contradictions of religious doctrine include, for example, the assertion that, in addition to God, there is a devil who is blamed for all vicious, immoral acts of people. The wise god creates the devil, although he knows in advance that he will disobey him and will intrigue him. God is omnipotent, but at the same time he is not able to overcome the devil, although he wages a fierce struggle against him. God could plunge the devil into the darkness of non-existence with one word, but he does not do this, although the devil is his worst enemy, because of which fiery hell is prepared for the greater part of mankind.

The religious doctrine of the devilish temptation is extremely contradictory. Its absurdity was very accurately defined by Holbach, who wrote: “God sometimes tempts people in order to give himself the pleasure of punishing them if they have the stupidity to fall into the trap set by him. But usually, when tempted, he uses the devil, whose only duty on earth is to mock God and corrupt his faithful slaves. This mysterious behavior indicates that the deity sometimes takes pleasure in driving himself into a skid with his inscrutable actions.

The contradictions of religious doctrine are fundamentally different from those contradictions that are encountered in scientific outlook, in science. If in the scientific worldview the emergence of contradictions is associated with the inevitable limitations of human knowledge, determined by the framework of the general development of social life, and therefore, as a person’s understanding of the world deepens, these contradictions are resolved, eliminated (in this case, dialectical contradictions that serve as the source of the development of reality are not taken into account) , then religious contradictions cannot be eliminated.

Thus, all the thoughts expressed about the scientific and religious worldviews allow us to draw an unambiguous conclusion: science and religion are irreconcilable.

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