Science is not a religion.. (religion v science)

I'm seeing a few blogs around from these "religious" people claiming that people who believe in evolution - are worshiping science like it was some sort of god - which somehow makes science a religion.

and you know - in a way - they are right - but only from a certain point of view. A very twisted point of view, mind you.

Science can't be a religion because science changes, religion does not.

Science is based on what we have experimentally shown to be "real" or by theoretically demonstrating what we think is a good explanation for what is "real" - religion is based on what is "unreal" .. ie. even if god is "real", then that defies the definition of god, as god is supposed to be beyond explanation - so even if god is "real" it would seem to be very much "unreal" to the observer, should this god so choose to reveal its presence.

But even though science is based on what is "real" it can sometimes be totally wrong, thus possibly making previous assertions obsolete - but when things are shown to be wrong, they are demonstrated to be wrong, thus "old science" is discarded

for example: as a scientific person, if it was somehow discovered that with undeniable proof that the "theory" of evolution was completely wrong, or that the big bang story was *way* off, it would be a day of fascination, a day of enlightenment, a day of discovery, opening up more of the realities and possibilities of the universe. I would be enthralled with reading up and learning everything I could about this new explanation of how life evolved or how the universe started.

but... on the other hand...

as a religious person - if it was somehow discovered with undeniable proof that the scripture I based my faith on, was completely and utterly a fake - it would be a day of emptiness - a day of disbelief and sadness shared world wide with all those who shared my now defunct faith - it would be a day of denial - it would feel like my soul had been ripped from my body and i would walk around in a daze because I'd lost my god.

Science often changes it's "facts" because our intelligence is continually growing, therefore our technology improves.

Religion is anachronistic and does not change its fundamental principles, at least, it is not supposed to, but I see people changing their religion all the time - Santa Claus doesn't appear in the bible, you know, and neither do Easter bunnies.

So if people want to call atheism or science a religion and science is also somehow its god, then fine.

Science is the god of change, the god for the future and the god of today. I bet most people would be dead by the age of thirty if not for things we often take for granted today; like being able to extract teeth safely; anti-biotics to stop infections; simple knowledge of bacteria and keeping toilets clean; and many other things that have come from science, have *tripled* the average lifespan in the last two thousand years. Shit, there is even research as of 2011 that indicates that reversal of aging is even possible. How would you like it if science let you live for so long that people only ever died because of accidents and natural disasters?

Religion promises you eternal life, whether it can or not is impossible to prove.

Science doesn't promise you anything, but it *is* solely responsible for the increased length and quality of life that we now get to live.

But you know, make science a religion if you want, that would be awesome, because if science was a religion, it'd have tax free status, that'd probably help with research funding I'm sure.