Etymology

The origins of the word "religion" have been debated for centuries. Some explanations for the origin of the word are:

• re-reading--from Latin re (again) + legio (read), referring to the repetition of scripture.

• treating carefully--from Latin relegere (Cicero's interpretation)

• re-connection to the divine--from Latin re (again) + ligare (to connect, as in English ligament). This interpretation is favoured by modern scholars, but probably originated with St. Augustine.

• to bind or return to bondage--an alternate interpretation of the "reconnection" etymology, possibly also originating with Augustine but emphasising a sense of servitude to God. However, the bondage interpretation, while popular with critics of religion, is often considered imprecise and possibly offensive in many modern religious contexts.

• concerning a gathering--from Latin ablative res (with regard to) + legere (to gather). More emphatically, religion concerns an organization.

What is clear about the word "religion" is that the religious connotations (in the sense of gods, morality, afterlife, etc.) were not a part of the term's Latin precursors.

Religion and science

According to the religious, knowledge can be gained from a religious leader, a sacred text, or personal revelation. It is not limited in scope and can try to answer any question. Some religious people maintain that knowledge obtained in this way is absolute and infallible (religious cosmology). Religious knowledge tends to vary from religion to religion, from sect to sect, and from individual to individual.

In contrast, the scientific method gains knowledge by interaction with the world, and can only answer cosmological questions about the physical universe. It tries to give theories of the world which best fit the observed evidence. All scientific knowledge is tentative, and subject to later improvement or revision in the face of better evidence. It should be noted that science can not only describe the world physically, but can also state facts that aren't physical, e.g. facts of economics, linguistics or much of psychology.

Many early scientists held strong religious beliefs and strove to reconcile science and religion. Isaac Newton, for example, believed that gravity caused the planets to revolve about the sun, but also said that angels may have to give the planets a push from time to time to keep them going. Sometimes, however, conflicts arose between science and religion. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, has reserved to itself the right to decide which scientific discoveries are acceptable and which are unacceptable. Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for unacceptable scientific theories, while Galileo was tried and forced to recant the theory that the earth goes around the sun. The modern Roman Catholic Church accepts most current scientific theories, but still reserves the right to make the final judgment.

Here are a few of the areas in which science and the organized Church have come into conflict from time to time.

• Is the earth flat or round?

• Does the earth move or does the sun move around the earth?

• Is the earth a few thousand years old or more than a billion years old?

• Was there a flood that covered all the earth?

• Did the various species evolve or were they individually created by God?

• Did the universe have a beginning or is it infinite?

• Is the speed of light constant and is Einstein's Theory of Relativity correct?

• Does radioactive decay occur at a predictable rate?