‘Science’ and ‘Religion’, two seemingly opposite words, that are brought closer and closer to each

other with each new discovery. For the longest time both ‘Science’ and ‘Religion’ have remained at
the opposite ends of the spectrum. For a very long time, with each new discovery, mankind used to
deviate away from religion. The coin has flipped now, and it seems to be following the opposite
trend of coming nearer with every new finding. However counter-intuitive it may sound, this is the
general belief of almost every renowned scientist. To probe any further into the topic at hand, it is
necessary to define the words ‘Religion’ and ‘Science’.

Science, is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure
and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. Religion is
defined as, “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God
or gods.” It is interesting to note here that the definition contains Superhuman Controlling Power.
Over the years our understanding of God and our belief in Him has changed meanings quite often. It
is but natural, that an activity that involves observation and a systematic study of our natural world
will draw us closer to that “Superhuman Controlling Power”. The Power needn’t be a person, a
figure or even anything that our primitive brains can perceive. The existence of such a power,
though is extremely necessary for explaining our world and its laws. Humans have a tendency to
explain things the best way they know, by using past experiences. That is the basic working of our
human brain. There are instances of inexplicable things that happen all across the universe, that our
words, our understanding of scientific concepts are unable to explain. This shouldn’t be seen as
some sort of a miracle. Rather it must be seen as something that we are yet to learn. Imagine, a
toddler trying to understand, the Theory of Relativity. To the toddler, nothing from the Theory is
going to make sense, yet. A very realistic scenario after this would be the toddler innocently slapping
the nearby person or crying. Both of which won’t answer the question, but it doesn’t mean the
question has disappeared or is insignificant. Well, to the toddler, of course it is insignificant, but as it
matures and learns languages and Maths and Sciences, one day he’ll be able to understand the basic
truth about its life. The truth that has been guiding his whole existence while hiding in plain sight.
Human Beings are akin to that Toddler, and the Theory of Relativity its Religion. We are yet to
mature and understand it, but trend suggests we are getting closer. Signs of which are present in all
religious books, that share the same themes and talk of a Supreme Being, controlling their world. It
is important here to understand that the unseen force is talked of as a Being. It is simply the
terminology used by man according to his convenience. With the advent of multiverse theories and
simulation theories, we are constantly changing our definition of religion but also getting closer to
understanding it.

In conclusion, and in answer to the underlying question, “Can Science replace Religion?”, may I say,
that science doesn’t need to replace religion. It is merely a tool to understand religion. The more
progress we make in Science, the closer we come to understanding our religion. I rest my case,
stating, Science cannot replace religion.