New harmony between faith and science

Peter Kopa, 4.5.18

            It has not always been clear that the aim of the natural sciences is to study the laws of physical phenomena in order to apply the knowledge thus obtained to technological progress. Its limit is the observation and measurement of phenomena, by means of experiments or mathematical reflections, so that it does not question the first cause of all that is, nor the ultimate meaning of things, without concern for what things are in themselves, in their deepest essence, which corresponds to Philosophy and Theology.

            Thus, it is understood that scientific laws are valid only up to the moment when contradictions with other laws arise. In this manner, some of Newton’s laws were overcome, or better said, completed, thanks to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Today the great topic is to get to know the functioning of the brain and how it relates to and conditions the free acts of man.

            The scientific truth lies precisely in the adequacy between the knowing subject and the known object, based on the evidence. But the truth that most excites and provokes man at all times is the truth about himself, about his deepest origin and his ultimate destiny. And this can only be said by reasonable religious faith, that is, a faith that is not in itself absurd or opposed to reason. The Christian has this problem solved, thanks to divine revelation, which allows him an optimal starting point for scientific research. Therefore, faith in no way implies ‘a crucifixion of reason’, as Kierkegaard said and regretted, but quite the contrary: it implies the exaltation of human reason which has previously been dignified and purified by faith.

            Whenever it has seemed to someone that there was a disharmony between science and faith, it has always been due either to an irrational prejudice or to a lack of philosophical knowledge, which most of the time consisted in an a priori rejection of the very possibility of faith by denying the very existence of God. This was the great problem of enlightened rationalism since the 16th century, which left a deep mark on Western thought.

The confessional and ideological neutrality of the State

            It is understandable that, until recently, certain States declared themselves to be confessional, because this fact was rooted in a tradition of many centuries, from the moment when the Catholic Church began to dismember Protestant religious groups in the sixteenth century. This first separation then multiplied until reaching more than 24 thousand sects and religious groups, for example, in the USA.

            In the book by Horst Dreier, professor of public law in Wurzburg, Germany, entitled ‘The Godless State. Religion in the Modern State’, he argues that at present it makes little sense for the State to identify itself with a religious creed, because based on the multiculturalism of its citizens, the legal organization of a nation must be neutral sign. Long before that, the Catholic Church had already established the principle of religious freedom, according to which no political authority has the right to impose a religious creed. This doctrine is based on individual human dignity and therefore on respect for one’s own conscience.

The conflict of the crosses in Bavaria

            However, when there is a large majority of citizens who profess the same religious faith, in practice it is understandable, for example, that in Bavaria there are crosses on public buildings and that most of the churches are Catholic. It does not therefore seem reasonable that the government in Berlin is trying to force the Bavarians to renounce their own traditions, but rather should respect them. And it would be absurd if, for example, Islamic symbols were placed next to the cross, because they are a small minority that has been allowed in for reasons of charity, so that they can survive.

            And it is not only crosses that are involved, but monuments and symbols of the Christian faith abound in Bavaria, or in any country with a Catholic majority, such as churches, street names and squares, customs, ways of thinking and a whole culture of values and thought that cannot and must not be touched by the state, on pain of disturbing the peace. At the same time, however, Christians must respect the conscience of Islamic or Israelite man, without opposing their own traditions, as long as they do not oppose the public order imposed by the State in relation to any creed.

            In this context, it is good to remember that a whole series of political constitutions begin by invoking the name of God, as is the case in Switzerland and the USA, which are countries that are in the vanguard of almost all areas of progress.