And here, it seems to me, is the crux of the conflict between religion and science. Not the religious rejection of specific scientific theories (be it heliocentrism in the 17th century or evolutionary biology today); over time most religions do find some way to make peace with well-established science. Rather, the scientific worldview and the religious worldview come into conflict over a far more fundamental question: namely, what constitutes evidence.
Science relies on publicly reproducible sense experience (that is, experiments and observations) combined with rational reflection on those empirical observations. Religious people acknowledge the validity of that method, but then claim to be in the possession of additional methods for obtaining reliable knowledge of factual matters – methods that go beyond the mere assessment of empirical evidence – such as intuition, revelation, or the reliance on sacred texts. But the trouble is this: What good reason do we have to believe that such methods work, in the sense of steering us systematically (even if not invariably) towards true beliefs rather than towards false ones? At least in the domains where we have been able to test these methods – astronomy, geology and history, for instance – they have not proven terribly reliable. Why should we expect them to work any better when we apply them to problems that are even more difficult, such as the fundamental nature of the universe?
Last but not least, these non-empirical methods suffer from an insuperable logical problem: What should we do when different people’s intuitions or revelations conflict? How can we know which of the many purportedly sacred texts – whose assertions frequently contradict one another – are in fact sacred? Alan Sokal
I want to compare faith to running in a race. Chariots of Fire 1981 starring Ben Cross & Ian Charleson & Nicholas Farrell & Nigel Havers & Ian Holm & John Gielgud & Lindsay Anderson & Cheryl Campbell & Alice Krige & Nigel Davenport & Patrick Magee & David Yelland & Brad Davis et al, director Hugh Hudson, Eric preaching to crowd in rain
You got to have a little faith in people. Manhattan 1979 starring Woody Allen & Diane Keaton & Michael Murphy & Mariel Hemingway & Meryl Streep & Anne Byrne & Michael O'Donoghue & Wallace Shawn & Karen Ludwig & Charles Levin & Karen Allen & David Rasche & Mark Linn-Baker & Frances Conroy et al, director Woody Allen, her to him
For they are a very forward generation, children in whom is no faith. Deuteronomy 32:20
I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Matthew 8:10
Thy faith hath made thee whole. Matthew 9:22
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:31
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:19&20
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:21&22
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. Luke 16:10
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Luke 17:5&6
And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Romans 1:17
For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. I Timothy 6:12
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. II Timothy 4:7
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Hebrews 11:1&6
What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:14&17
Why should faith survive? Dr Jonathan Miller: A Rough History of Disbelief III: The Final Hour, BBC 2004
I think your faith is for purchase. Wolf Hall III: Anna Regina, More to Cromwell, BBC 2015
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. Thomas Aquinas
My faith did not come to me through science, and I will not permit so-called science to destroy it. Thomas S Monson, article Ensign February 2001, ‘The Lighthouse of the Lord: A Message to the Youth of the Church’
Then their sister, with much augmented confidence in the efficacy of this sacrament, poured forth from the bottom of her heart the thanksgiving that follows, uttering it boldly and triumphantly in the stopt-diapason note which her voice acquired when her heart was in her speech, and which will never be forgotten by those who knew her. The ecstasy of faith almost apotheosized her; it set upon her face a glowing irradiation, and brought a red spot into the middle of each cheek; while the miniature candle-flame inverted in her eye-pupils shone like a diamond. Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles
She was a regular church-goer of simple faith; honest-hearted, receptive, intelligent, graceful to a degree, chaste as a vestal, and, in personal appearance, exceptionally beautiful. ibid.
A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets. Arthur C Clarke
The strength of a faith misguided is still a strength. The Borgias s2e10: The Confession, adviser to Cesare, Showtime 2012
I said you have it wrong: God has no faith in us. House of Cards US s1e12: Chapter 12, Frank, Netflix 2013
The Almighty tests our faith through pain. That’s right, God is love. Gomorrah s4e5: Episodio V, Donna Benedetta to Patrizia
Misuse of reason might yet return the world to pre-technological night; plenty of religious zealots hunger for just such a result, and are happy to use the latest technology to effect it. A C Grayling, The Heart of Things: Applying Philosophy to the 21st Century
The most pressing question on the problem of faith is whether a man as a civilised being ... can believe in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for therein rests the whole of our faith. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. Abraham Lincoln, speech 27th February 1860
A powerful minority is on the rise with a particular vision of America. It’s one of the oldest and influential currents in US politics. But in a country deeply divided the Christian right has found a new voice. It claims Christianity is under attack and that God belongs in government. America: Faith on the Front Line, BBC 2022
Known to many as Christian nationalism. And the far right is taking it to the extreme. ibid.
‘We are the Christian Taliban. This is the era of Christian nationalism.’ ibid.