The THEORY of Evolution as a religion - Does it fit the criteria? Keep it polite & intelligent. Please.?

Question

It seems to me that evolutionists are deluding themselves into believing themselves to be somehow smarter or better educated than anyone who chooses to believe in either Intelligent Design or Creationism theories. Quite of few of the die-hard evolutionists that I've talked with seem to feel that any system of religion diminshes them, but... Random House College Dictionary & Dictionary.com defines religion as - "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe", "a deep convition of the validity of religious beliefs & practices", "a point or matter of ethics & conscience". Merriam Webster - "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith". Encarta - "a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by" & "an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by". By these definitions isn't the THEORY of evolution, which also can't be scientifically proven, a religion?

Thanks to all of you for a great discussion! I am a biologist by training & wildlife field work & planning my profession. My undergraduate was in pre-med, chemistry & agriculture & a Master's in Zoology from a well respected college in the US. I personally believe in natural selection, because I've seen it proven, but evolution. The difinitions for the word 'religion' came from 3 real dictionaries that millions of everyday people use so how can they be wrong? Evolution, as proposed by Darwin, has not been proven & can't be proven in the field. The theory must be taken on faith. Just because enough people believe something, does that make it fact? Does it take more faith to believe in the theory of intelligent design? Since neither evolution nor intelligent design can be expiramentally tested, maybe they should be hypotheses? These are just observations & thoughts put out to cause [hopefully?] objective discussion.

Answer 1

About Random House...While evolution attempts to explain the nature of our world and generally gives statistically improbable random chance as the cause, it doesn't really speak as to the purpose. According to evolution, man has no purpose.

Evolutionists do seem to have fairly deep convictions regarding the beliefs and practices of anyone that doesn't believe the same way that they do, but do their own beliefs about evolution & scientific practices really constitute a religion?

According to evolution, there is no Higher Being involved, so man must create his own set of ethics & conscience. Man is the pinnacle. Scary isn't it? But let's say that evolutionists have hit the nail on the head, what's so wrong about borrowing the Christians Ten Commandments? They seem pretty good to me!

How funny! Well, according the Merriam Webster, I would have to say that evolution would definitely qualify as a religion. Maybe even as much as Tom Cruise and his scientology. Evolution is definitely as "system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith"! LOL Just check out how many answerers verbally attacked this poor girl. I'm feeling some ardor here.

Do evolutionists have a "set of strongly-held beliefs"? I would have to say so. Values and Attitudes. Doesn't everybody even if they don't agree with ours?

And last but not least, I would have to admit that evolution is an almost scientific [don't bite my head of here; it can't be duplicated past single celled organisms] practice that many evolutionists, whether real scientists, or just anti-Christians, are "completely devoted to or obsessed by".

Oh, & before any one attacks me, don't make a fool out of yourself. I'm just answering the question as it was asked. I'm not saying I do or don't believe in evolution itself.

Answer 2

Nothing in science is ever proven. That said, "THEORY" does not refer merely to an idea, but rather to a set of data that have been borne out through observation and experimentation. Evolutionary theory is well-studied, well-documented, and accepted by the scientific community as the best explanation to fit the observed world.

Regarding the specific definition that you give, evolutionary theory is not a "belief" and does not speak to the "cause" or "purpose" of anything. Evolutionary theory discusses the changes that occur in organisms over time. That's all. Science does not care about WHY. That's for philosophy and religion, and can't be tested. Science only cares about HOW.

Yes, there are many who are fanatic in their devotion to evolutionary theory, some to the point of alienating those with different viewpoints. Exactly the same can be said of many who are fanatically devoted to religion or some other idea. However, evolutionary theory has an advantage: it's based on observed facts and experiments, rather than being based on philosophical arguments that cannot be tested or verified.

Answer 3

First off, intelligent design and creationism aren't scientific theories like evolution is. They are a hypothesis at best. And you should also look up what a scientific theory is. It isn't "just" a theory. A theory is as high as it gets in science. Also, evolution is not a religion. It is a scientific bases theory to explain the phenomenons and laws associated with biology, genetics, biological history and species' origins. Also, evolution has been supported by observation, experimentation, and evidence. It is not a set up beliefs, but a scientific theory.

Evolutionists don't think that Creationists are somehow less intelligent then they are. But, there are a lot of ignorant Creationists who like to argue, but don't have their information in order.

Answer 4

The people who would describe evolution as a religion are usually the same folks who believe that evolution is out to replace religion. But just because something is believed doesn't mean it is a religion. If I drop my pen, I believe it will fall, but the difference is that this belief is not an act of mere faith, but of reason, because the belief is based upon what I have actually observed about the real nature of the world and how it works. We can't say the same about faith-based beliefs, whose "evidence" seems to be the document they were written in.

Your Mirriam Webster def. seems as though it would be willing to include any philosophy or social cause as a religion, and I'm sure you wouldn't call feminism or existentialism religions. They are belief sets. Evolution has a place within a philosophy(-ies) as part of the enterprise of science, which one could argue is a form of secular humanism or a constructivist kind of reductionism, blah, blah, blah. But if you look into the root cause of our investigations, it is not motivated or governed by what your everyday person would consider a religious principle.

Answer 5

I think people can make anything into a religion.

I mean, evolution is based on the scientific process. Just like gravity. Or acceleration. Or sexual reproduction. Or any other countless scientific "theories": you can't prove *anything* to be "right": only perform enough tests and experiments and make enough observations to strongly support your idea. But, in the strictest sense of the word, any *theory* can be proven wrong.

On the other hand, you can't prove any religion to be wrong (you can't prove it to be right either). So immediately you lose the ability to have any kind of rational argument about its correctness or falseness. It's just a belief, a conviction.

Unfortunately, people do treat theories, such as evolution, as a religion. I.e., evolution itself isn't a religion, but some people make it out to be.

At the end of the day, the argument between ID and evolution isn't an apples-to-apples comparison; it's not even apples-to-oranges; it's like comparing apples to automobiles!

Answer 6

Because you phrased your question with Evolution in capital letters you obviously have no educational background on evolution. Evolution is no longer a theory, it's a proven fact with tangible evidence backing it up.

What you are asking, however, is whether you can put Creationism and Intelligent Design next to Evolution as valid sciences, which you can't since you can't prove them.

By it's very nature, belief in God is a leap of faith because faith is believing what you can't see. I have no problem with any of the above (evolution and God) and, if I were you, I'd strive for the same relaxed attitude. Evolution is not blasphemy, nor is it an affront to God.

Answer 7

No, it is not a religion. Any good scientist knows that any theory cannot be proven entirely correct. As such, the theory of evolution, even there is compelling evidence to its validity cannot be proven entirely correct. We have never found a transitional species, that is, one on its way to evolve into something new. Since evolution is such a slow process, we will never find such a transitional species. Also, obviously, the fossil record has gaps in it. So we cannot answer the question with 100% certainty. My point is, any scientist worth his/her salt, has to concede that evolution theory might be completely wrong, even if the preponderance of evidence favors it. As I explain to my students, religion is based on faith, which requires no proof, science requires proof. I see no contradiction or even that if you believe in evolution, you cannot have a religious faith. My belief in evolution is scientific. I know that it can be disproven, thus, I do not take it as an article of faith. On the other hand, my religious beliefs are rooted deeply on my faith and they are not open to interpretation by anybody, thus, there you have it, a scientist that is also religious and feels that science and religion are not adversaries.

Answer 8

Those definitions aren't enough. Religion means a belief that you hold in the abscence of proof, a belief in the supernatural. THAT'S religion. And science offers proof. There's millions of pieces of evidence for evolution; the evidence is overwhelming. No supernatural requried. Evolution HAS been proven. It's been observed in the lab. It's been supported by EVERY SINGLE fossil ever discovered and all the genetic research ever preformed.

Evolution is better supported than gravity or electrodynamics - but are you going to call orbital mechanics or computers a religion next as well, since you haven't seen them either?

Answer 9

Well, I'm not going to get into any debate about whether evolution is a religion or not but well - educated, trained, well-meaning, caring, loving scientific evolutions have credible findings to support their hypothesis or "religion." I'm no evolutionist and at this point in my life I simply don't care right now. I don't disagree that it is a THEORY but nonetheless it is a theory with some scientific foundation. There are even educated Christians and other God believing individuals that agree with the "theory." Years ago when I was "interested" and studying Creationism, by such luminaries as Henry Morris and Duane Gish, we were told some things to support the Creationist "theory" that I have since found out simply were not true. These Creationists now admit to such subsequent mistakes, i.e man's footprints found along side dinosaur footprints. For years I read within what I now call the "box." The "box" of Christian thinking by Christian writers and if I dare thought outside the "box" then I was told that that was Satan working his devilish deeds in my heart. I finally searched outside the box and found out there are a whole lot of credible information to refute many Christian beliefs. Have you read outside the "box"? Read some scientific reviews and books by educated evolutionists and perhaps by some Christian scientists who don't disagree with the theory of evolution. Do this and then let's see if you have a difference of opinion.

Answer 10

The distinction is the set of criteria used to judge the veracity of the theory. A religion needs no proof--it is a matter of faith. Evidence can be offered, but the evidence is always secondary to the fundamental issue of belief. A scientific theory on the other hand (and you are right to say that evolution, like all scientific theories, cannot be "proven", in the sense that it cannot be shown to be undeniably "true"), is judged by how accurately and usefully it explains scientifically gathered data. The theory of evolution is considered to be a good scientific theory, because it correctly predicts future events, it explains a large body of scientific evidence (both of our current world and of the world we can infer through fossil/historical data). Both religions and scientific theories are matters of belief (in fact, every statement about the world is a statement of belief), but they involve different paradigms, different "wills to truth," different methods for adjudicating disputes, different power centers that define who can and cannot speak "truthfully" about the subject.

So, when I say "I believe in Christianity," I mean that I have faith that God exists, that God manifested as a human being called Jesus, who suffered and died on our behalf, etc.--I don't need or want "proof." When I say "I believe in evolution," I mean that I have evaluated observations about the world, and examined the theory of evolution, and find that the two match. Both theories help me undersand the world I live in, and they do not contradict each other.