For thousands of years, people have questioned the place of faith in our daily lives. That is, they ask questions such as “does God exist? Why does He need us to worship him? What happens when we die?” And many other philosophical questions such as “if God does exist, why is there much suffering in the world?”
Now, solid science is beginning to recognize the benefits of religious beliefs—even in a secular world. In a world that takes pride in distancing itself from faith and belief. Will the new findings nudge the world to have faith in faith?
“Religion is a crazy human invention”, argued Robert Sapolsky, an atheist. But what is crazier than religion, Sapolsky continued, is to have no religion. Accordingly, 90 to 95% of the people in the world believe in some omnipotent energy. This means that they have a religion. In essence, however weak, in their core exists a belief. For now, let’s not concern ourselves with the question of the true religion or query whether we worship a false or true God. Just know that this conviction exists in up to 95% of the general population.
Even Charles Darwin believed in God. That’s a surprising fact because it’s his theory that many atheists are using to discard religion.
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This is what Jack Fraser who has a master’s in physics from Oxford University wrote about Darwin in Forbes:
“The most famous biologist of all time (Charles Darwin) was a firm believer in the Abrahamic God— though later in life he became somewhat conflicted in his views on his particular strain of Christianity, particularly struggling with the ‘problem of evil’, but despite this, he is quoted as saying in 1879 ‘I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.’”
President Obama generated so much controversy in 2009 when he nominated Francis Collins, a Christian geneticist, to head the National Institutes of Health. Some scientists baulked at the appointment.
But in response, Huffington Post cited a study conducted by the Pew Research Center which shows that above half of American scientists believe in God.
“This argument — that scientific inquiry is essentially incompatible with religious belief — has been gaining traction in some circles in recent years,” HuffPost wrote. “In fact, according to a 2009 Pew Research Center survey, American scientists are about half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher, universal power. Still, the survey found that the percentage of scientists that believe in some form of a deity or power was higher than you may think — 51 percent.”
Sapolsky, quoted above, is a neuroscientist and author of “Behaved: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst”.
As an atheist, he finds this reality a little disturbing. “And what is infuriating to me as an utter, complete atheist is a very, very solid literature showing the health benefits of religiosity”, he said.
For example, “rates of depression are much higher among atheists. Go figure,” Sapolsky said.
If Sapolsky’s figures hold, it may be the reason depression continues to ravage some developed nations as they increasingly turn toward atheism in critical numbers. Is there a correlation between atheism and depression? That appears to be what the results suggest.
Indeed, America’s National Institute of Mental Health reported that “an estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode.”
Therefore, seen from a purely secular perspective, it makes sense to have a religion. This is because it is a brutal world. When the going gets tough—and it always does—you need something to hold on to, to keep you grounded and to show direction. In essence, you require a benevolent Being to tell you that your suffering is not in vain. To tell you that your problems are temporary. This assurance is stress-reducing.
The Qur’an puts it perfectly: “Verily, with the remembrance of Allah do hearts find comfort.”
In other words, when you’re stressed or threatened or subjected to any kind of impending doom or harm – whether self-inflicted or externally induced – it’s comforting to remember that God can save you.
About this, the Qur’an reassures us that even hard times don’t last: “Allah will bring about, after hardship, ease.”
This verse seven in chapter 65 (Talaaq) comforts the believers that hard times never last.
This is how religion helps you in this world—to say nothing of the next world.
Therefore, even before we talk of Islam, you can see the utility of being a believer. You’re healthier and happier, and you cope better with life challenges. However, as useful as religion is, do we still require it in this modern world, and what’s its place in the coming decades?
The next chapter attempts to answer that question for all religions, and the rest of the book is dedicated to making the case for Islam. It’s a little effort to help readers understand Islam through social science.
This column is an excerpt from “Making Social Science of Islam” by Ibraheem Dooba
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