Religion and science have
always been in direct competition with one another. The ultimate goal
of science
is to prove the inexistence of God with facts, while the
existence in God is simply based on belief and faith. While 95% of the
people living on Earth believe in a superior being of some sort, some
might say that religion clouds the minds of otherwise logical
individuals and makes it impossible for them to pursue the truth of the
Universe. Thus, the debate on which view is the right one continues on,
while somewhere in the middle stand
religious followers who are also
scientists.
Many people claim that the belief in religion comes simply from
the "need of something to believe in". However, it is difficult to
argue against the fact that religion does not include its followers in
something greater, then just a "need". It allows for an identification
with a greater body of religious believers and for the inclusion in the
love of a God. The only thing religion asks for in return is faith in
its
teachings which is made up of their morals and the existence of the
God which they cherish and worship.
In the movie "Contact", Ellie Arroway represents many scientists
in the world. She is torn between religion and science, however she is
unable to rely on the assumed truths of the teachings of religions.
Science is the search for truth, it allows her to discover the truth
for herself. As Palmer Joss later mentions in the movie, the purity of
science is not involved in the furthering of technology. Technology is
not the God that science seeks, for it seeks to create no God, science
does not believe in any sort of God.
As religion accepts the truths written in its texts and taught in
its teachings, science continues, through research, to search for "the
truth of the Universe". Both seek to fulfill the same thirst; a desire
that mass numbers of individuals have to understand and be part of
something so vast that it includes everything, everywhere. Religion and
science may be in competition with one another but the truth is they
have the same goal; to find the truth, whether it be based on faith or
facts.