Science and Spirituality in our Era

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Distingushed Professor of Physics Department, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran & and an IAS fellow

10.22034/jpiut.2026.71194.4421

Abstract

Science seeks to discover the order present in nature and describes this order in the form of laws. Religion is a response to a Transcendent Being Who transforms our lives and gives it a meaning. Traditionally, spirituality was regarded as an integral aspect of religious experience, and spirituality and religion were inseparable.  But, the decline of organized religions and the growth of secularism in the western world have given rise to a broader view of spirituality which includes reference to those aspects of human experience which go beyond a purely materialist view of the world, without necessarily bringing in a supernatural reality. Scientific revolution started in the seventeenth century with the works of F. Bacon, Descartes, Galileo, Newton, Boyle, etc. and gave rise to the promotion of empiricism by Bacon and Galileo and the propagation of mechanical worldview by Descartes, Galileo and Newton. Gradually the power of Newtonian system impressed the scientists, and the role of God was first reduced to the initiator of the universe and with the French enlightenment it was eliminated. With the appearance of Philosophers and scientists  like Hume ,Kant ,August Comte, Marx, Darwin , Durkhim , Freud and logical positivists, empiricism became the dominant philosophy and with that metaphysics ,religion and spirituality went into the sideline.Several important currents started during the second half of the twentieth century which had a revival effect on religion and spirituality and some eminent scientists of our era –including some non-theists – have emphasized the necessity of going beyond the material features of life and paying attention to its spiritual aspects (values, meanings, etc.).

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References

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 20, Issue 54 - Serial Number 54
Articles
February 2026
Pages 175-186

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