The Encyclopedia of World Religions

science and religion S 409

Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Initially Saul’s military efforts met with success. But the fighting was difficult, and Saul seems to have suffered emotionally. As the Bible tells it, he also became obsessed with a younger rival named D AVID . Saul and his sons lost their lives in battle at Mount Gilboa. After this event, the much more successful David became king. science and religion The relationship of scien tific knowledge to traditional religion. No issue has more profoundly disturbed the modern world than conflict between science and religion. Not only do the two use different methods for the ascertaining of truth, in their pure forms they also end up with radically different views of the ultimate nature of the universe, with consequent conflicting views of the origin, nature, and destiny of humans. These conflicting views in turn produce contrasting ideas on how human life should be lived, above all in its moral and psychological dimensions. Or so many spokespersons for each side have declared, though there have also been important attempts to medi ate the two. Science in the West, since its origins in the 16th century, has sought to determine the truth of nature through careful empirical observation, including precise measurements, induction from what is observed to general hypotheses, deduc ing other possible consequences of the principle, then testing them and the original law through repeated observation, in controlled experiments when possible. Its overall picture of the world develops through consensus among persons qual ified to do such work, and in theory is always prepared to change its views in light of new evi dence. Religion on the other hand characteristi cally bases its teachings on divine revelation or nonrational inner experience, presented through authoritative books and teachers, though revela tion and doctrine may certainly be supported and amplified through rational means like those of science. Nonetheless, the resulting pictures of the world have contrasted greatly in recent centuries: Science has overwhelmingly offered a material,

the authority of her son and says nothing about sati. Nevertheless, the position of widows in tra ditional Hindu society was often not good, and in some places the practice of sati developed. It was particularly widespread in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, famed for its warrior traditions, and in the eastern Indian state of Bengal. Feminist thinkers have often taken sati as a sign of the broader ill treatment of women in tra ditional India. They find a model for it in the story of Sita, the wife of R AMA in the R AMAYANA . Many Indian women consider Sita to be the ideal woman. To prove to her husband that she was pure, Sita threw herself into a fire prepared for ritual sacri fice, although according to the story the fire did not harm her in any way. Feminists have also sug gested that women have been forced to immolate themselves against their will; traditional Hindus often reject this suggestion. The British first outlawed sati in 1829. The last legal incident occurred in 1861. But although sati is not common today and offends many, perhaps most, Hindus, it still occurs. One recent incident was the sati of Roop Kanwar in Deorala, Rajasthan, on September 4, 1987. Pilgrims now visit the town to worship at the site where she committed sati. Further reading: Lindsey Harlan and Paul B. Courtright, eds., From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995); John Stratton Hawley, ed., Sati, the Blessing and the Curse: The Burning of Wives in India (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). Saul (11th century B . C . E .) the first king of ancient Israel In the 11th century B . C . E . the tribes of Israel lived in the hill country between the Jordan River and coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They were banded together into a loose confederation. But they were weaker than the Philistines, people who lived along the Mediterranean coast. As the B IBLE tells the story, they decided that they needed a king. They did so despite opposition from Samuel, the prophet of their god YHWH (“the Lord”).