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June 16, 2006 It's unclear whether the growing opposition to advancing scientific research is simply election-year semantics or a growing consensus among conservative religious groups. If there truly is some movement against science in favor of religion and faith, we could be looking at the largest rollback in discovery since the pre-Enlightenment Age. It doesn't have to be this way. There is a problem in our civil discourse about science and religion: The most vocal critics on each side paint the debate as black-and-white, where one option must ultimately be chosen. There is no reason why religious faith and scientific discovery must be at odds with each other, for they have helped to advance the cause of man for centuries. Religion is a beautiful thing: It has birth the abolitionist movement that demanded the release of slaves from bondage; it has funded the civil rights movement of the 20th Century and provided it with helpful backing; it has compelled research into agricultural methods to feed starving families in third-world countries; it was among the first organized group to champion the right of women to vote. Anyone who claims religion has done nothing for society is woefully mistaken. Where religion has provided the moral imperative for action, as it has in the cases of treatable epidemics and malnutrition, science has provided the means for such action. Increasing crop yields and the hardiness of plants, devloping vaccines and treatments for some of the world's most prevalent diseases and enhancing the quality of life are a few of the many contributions of the scientific community. A world without any religion would be as unlivable as a world without science. It's time people saw that. With new ways of procuring stem cells without the use of embryos, there is no reason religioin and science should not join forces in a global campaign to end debilitating diseases like Alzheimer's and other degenerative disorders through the research of stem-cells. Science can provide the means to the 'Culture of Life' that religious groups claim to be pursuing. Religion ought to pursue this new development as they eventually did the eradication of smallpox and polio. To limit science is to limit the means for achieving admirable religious goals. America has the potential to once again be the world force in beneficial scientific research and development for the rest of the world. It is time the war between religion and science ended, and true progress in improving lives began. ------------ About the author: Max Burns is a 19-year-old moderate Democrat from Indianapolis. He has been moved from the Hoosier Heartland to the moral void that is Washington D.C. to study Government & International Politics at George Mason University. He is also the author of the fantasy novel Alcardia. Email: mburns6@gmu.edu Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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