I don’t doubt…but I also think others (science illiterates) seemed to think that if science don’t have answers to some fathomable problems, then they should seek in their respective religion.
They probably should.
Not if it is about curing cancer or launching a satellite, but the things that science can’t answer (the “ought to”) are the domain of religions and their functional equivalents, “secular” ideologies and worldviews (I personally don’t draw a distinction between religious worldviews and “not religious” worldviews as demarcation is pretty arbitrary)
religions have as much hinder human progress as help them...as you said, humans being human, they exacerbated the problems.
I think we’d do much better as a species if we stuck to the tragic view of history where we cannot be saved from ourselves.
The Abrahamic monotheisms (perhaps via Zoroastrianism) are responsible for the optimistic, teleological view of history which ends in salvation.
The post-Christian west has, unfortunately, retained this narrative of salvation via the Idea of Progress that emerged from the Enlightenment (via Christianity)
The differences between science and religion, historical-wise, there was never a time when scientists have real political & military powers, whereas religious people have wielded such powers, and that powers have corrupted them.
I wouldn’t expect them to do any better a job of it.
Science and reason are value neutral after all.
Having a very “rational scientific” mindset can be very problematic if aligned to the wrong ideology.
What I am saying, is that scientists have never dictated government policies, nor led military strategy.
But can you imagine if some Islamic terrorist leaders gain nuclear weapons?
It only happened in fiction, that mad scientists like those in the Bond’s novels & films were megalomaniacs who wanted to either conquer the world or destroy the world.
The Al Qaeda leaders Bin Laden, Khalid Sheik Muhammad and Ayman al Zawahiri were all from STEM backgrounds.
The problem is humans, not science or religion.
