The modern relevance of faith

 

Is religous faith relevant in today's world of rationality, science and progress? Why do people still believe in God and systems of worship? 

While some people proudly claim to be atheist, many maintain their belief in a divine, omnipresent and supernatural power that controls the universe, referred as God or divine human forms. 

Aethists claim to be rational and hence have belief in things backed by logic and facts only, which is often obtained through scientific progress and rejecting unfounded ideologies. 

Sounds plausible, but is it truly rational to reject the concepts behind faith just because it has no evidence or apparent logical backing yet? 

Let's analyze the concept of faith in God logically and without bias-

1. Many unfounded and abstract beliefs like theory of relativity (which claims that time is variable) and dual nature of light; were actually proven to be true by the one who came up with the concept and believed in it till he/she found enough proof and logic to back it. 

Even the claim that earth is round was laughed upon till proof was offered and most modern technologies were inconceivable just a few decades earlier.

Isn't it possible that religous beliefs also have some evidence and logic backing them which rationalists are overlooking or yet to find? Are aethists simply overlooking the possibility that God is another concept which has so far not been backed by strong logic or fact; but may be so in future? 

2. Rationality often uses the argument that science explains everything but there are fundamental questions that remain unanswered and even seem out of the scope of science.

3. Further extrapolating the previous points- irreducible complexity,near death experiences, apparent intellect behind complex creations and basis of science itself; are yet to be explained by science. 

In fact these oppose both science and logic. Yet, scientists have mostly accepted these observations as facts but provided no proper explanations for them. However the belief in God explains them convincingly.

Inference

There is no indisputable empirical evidence for the public to see, when it comes to the existence of God or relevance of religous faith. Often the concept of God is used in rituals and stories that, indeed, seem logically unsound. Infact, when twisted into dogmas for debauchery, religion leads to harmful consequences...

But what can be said, unarguably, is that religion maintains its relevance in the modern world- either as a moral compass in life, a stress buster, a social connector, or as a livelihood for many. Moreover, it appears to perfectly explain some aspects that go against science and logic (point 3).

Either way, when used rightly, religous faith seems to form a vital socioeconomic fabric of society. But when used wrongly, it can have devastating consequences...

Conclusion

We may conclude that it will be truly rational to accept the possibility that faith in God may be justified, even if you do not presently believe in it till we have enough proof and logic to refute/vindicate it. 

What we do not want is aethists behaving condescendingly towards believers. At the same time, we must also avoid any efforts to impose or misuse religious faith. 

After all, history confirms that possibilities are endless and we must have an open but moderated mind.

Note- The writer respects all religions equally and does not intend to hurt the sentiments of any person or community.