Resolving the Dilemma of Religious Belief in Modernity: A Discussion

This essay examines the complex relationship between religious belief and modernity, focusing on the conflicts arising from secularization, technology, and science. The author analyzes the perspectives of various scholars, including Durkheim, Freire, Killian, and Woodhead, to illustrate the challenges and tensions faced by religion in the modern world. The essay delves into the cognitive psychology behind religious belief, the perceived incompatibility between religion and technology, and the impact of secularization on religious practices and beliefs. The author argues that despite these conflicts, the dilemma between modernity and religion remains resolvable, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the distinct roles of science and religion. The essay concludes with a personal reflection on the author's experience with different cultures and religious practices, reinforcing the idea that the core of religious belief transcends cultural and denominational boundaries. The paper uses four sources to identify and discuss the dilemma of religious belief in modernity by showing inevitable conflicts different individuals have witnessed and determine whether conflicts between modernity and religion remain resolvable or not with justification.

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Course
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DILEMMA OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF IN MODERNITY
Introduction
The paper uses four sources read in the course to identify and discuss the dilemma of
religious belief in modernity by showing inevitable conflicts different individuals we have
learned about have witnessed and determine whether conflicts between modernity and religion
remain resolvable or not with justification. It is argued that modernity and religion remain
controversial in terms of secularization, technology, and science, but this controversy is
resolvable.
Religion and Science
The conflict between religion and science lies in people's brain. The clashes between
utilization of faith and scientific evidence when explaining the globe around people trace back to
centuries and remains most visible currently in arguments between creationism and evolution.
People seem to suppress the network of brain utilized in analytical thinking to believe in a
supernatural God or even universal spirit by engaging in empathetic thinking according to the
scientific view.
People, however, appear to do the reverse when analytically thinking regarding their
physical world. In the presence of question of faith from the analytical perspective, it might seem
absurd; however, it is understood that using faith to believe in supernatural God is equivalent to

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pushing aside the analytical or critical way of thinking to assist people in accomplishing greater
emotional or social insight.
Cognitive psychology demonstrates that individuals with faith that is spiritual or religious
persons are never as smarter as the rest. They really could hold that they are less intelligent and
spiritual individual remain pro-social alongside empathic. Science explains why women tend to
hold more spiritual or religious worldviews than male counterparts due to women's stronger
tendency towards empathetic concerns.
Taking a considered leap of religious faith remains a valid path towards emotional insight
promotion since religious belief is linked to great compassion, social inclusiveness, and
motivation to engage in actions termed pro-social. For example, in explaining how religion
differs from a magician, Durkheim says that "religion, on the other hand, is inseparable from the
idea of Church" (p. 5). This demonstrates that religion is pro-social. Apart from often
contradiction with science, within the right context, religious beliefs might positively promote
scientific insight and creativity. This is evident where famous scientists in history were religious
or spiritual. They stood intellectually sophisticated to observe that it was needless for science and
religion to conflict with each other.
Religion and Technology
Several secularists alongside non-believers of different sorts tend to consider religion and
science as significantly incompatible. For instance, the chapter on religious belief, ritual and
experience shows that "the defensive and punitive policies towards all visible signs of Islamism
are a response to fears of an "Arab-Muslim Menace." Such an incompatibility remains further
imagined to extend to the association between technology and religion because technology is a
product of science and science can never proceed in without technology. Therefore, quite a few

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atheists are marveling in disbelief how many engineers are further creationists, and how many
individuals in high-tech sectors manifest high-energy religious inspirations or motivations.
The overarching issue is to explain why we continue to witness widespread encroachment
with technology while simultaneously experiencing a global resurgence of religious
fundamentalism. It is irrational to assume that the rise of both is merely a coincidence. Rather
than presuming that training and education behind technology and science always lead to more
religious skepticism and atheism, people need to wonder whether empirical observation is truly
disconfirming their ideas.
Atheist remains all-time ready to critique theists for the failure to deal with proof that
does not meet anticipations; thus, people must never fall into the very trap. This is illustrated in
the chapter on "religious definition," which states that, "religion is only the illusory sun which
revolves around man as long as he does not revolve around himself (p. 14)." This quote confirms
how secularists are opposed to religion.
Maybe there are religious impulses that underlie technological drive that has featured
modernity-religious motivations that could influence secular atheists; also if they are never self-
aware enough to notice what is happening. These impulses could deter the incompatibility
between technology and religion. Maybe technology itself is increasingly becoming religious
independently, hence further eliminating such incompatibilities.
Religion and Secularization
The border between secular spheres of life and religious beliefs remain contested in
several parts of the globe. According to Woodhead, "secularization must explain women's
growing alienation from the churches they once supported" (p.96). This shows the effects of
secularization as it changes the view of women about the church. The tensions and debates are

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set against the backdrop of return of religion to public life which have resulted in the idea that
secularism could be in a state of crisis or even shifting towards a particular form of post-secular
scenario. According to Woodhead, "so existing theories of secularization do a good job of
explaining men's religious disaffiliation but a bad job of explaining the situation of the other half
of human race" (p.98). This explains how secularization is negatively affecting religion as it
makes men to be disaffiliate from religion.
Proponents of religion role in public life hold that religion provides an array of valuable
public goods and provide people with a sense of identity and meaning. This is supported by the
quote from the chapter by Killian, which indicates that "I think that religion is an element that
helps me…helped me surmount difficult moments in my life (p. 41). Secularists hold that
separating church and state gives the most excellent framework to uphold the freedoms and
rights of every citizen irrespective of their belief or religion. According to religious beliefs, ritual
and experience chapter, "for the majority of women I interviewed, Islam continues to play a vital
role in their lives, even if they have lived in France for several years" (p. 40). This quote shows
the role of religion in public life.
The conflict between modernity and religion is resolvable. People can avoid disputes by
recalling simple rules as a religion having no place in telling people about the physical nature of
the globe. Science needs to inform people's ethical reasoning; however, it can never determine
what remains ethical or tell people how they need to construct meaning and purposes in their
lives. This is supported by Durkheim that says "religion is a unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and
practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to
them" (p. 6).

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Being from Nigeria, but born in NYC, USA, I have experienced two different types of
cultures. I have experienced how Nigerians and Americans view or see religion as a whole. We
all know that everyone says their churches are the best church or they claim that this church is
better off to attend than the other. Personally, I believe that a church is a church, a mosque is a
mosque because we are all serving one God. We often celebrate or worship by praising the same
God. Therefore, no matter where you go worship/pray or how you do irrespective or church or
mosque, the bottom line is that we serve one God. For instance, for those who pray or know how
to pray, my question is, “do we all pray the same way, The answer is No. However, we know
God is watching over us. He can hear our prayers in whatever language we speak or how we
generally communicate.
Conclusion
The paper has discussed the dilemma between modernity and religion in terms of the
relationship between religion and science; religion and secularization; and religion and
technology. The discussion has revealed conflicts experienced by various authors and also
concluded that the dilemma between modernity and religion remains solvable.

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Works Cited
Durkheim, Emile. "Subject of the Study: Religious Sociology and the Theory of
Knowledge." Sociology of Religion. Routledge, 2015. 15-20.
Freire, Paulo. "The “banking” concept of education." (1970): 92-102.
Killian, Caitlin. "From a community of believers to an Islam of the heart: “Conspicuous”
symbols, Muslim practices, and the privatization of religion in France." Sociology of
religion 68.3 (2007): 305-320.
Woodhead, Linda. "Gendering secularization theory." Social compass 55.2 (2008): 187-193.