I contend that religion and
science are two distinct and unique domains, and thus qualitatively different.
It follows that they have their own distinctive criteria, which are rightly
hegemonic in their respective domain. In other words, the criteria of religion
should not be extended onto the domain of natural science, especially if in
doing so the native criteria of science are eclipsed or overridden. Likewise,
the criteria of science should not be superimposed into the domain of religion,
especially if at the expense of the sui generis criteria of religion. The film,
The Children Act (2017),
demonstrates the problems entailed in imposing religious criteria onto medical
science. An interesting question from having seen the film is whether any such
hypertrophy of one domain’s criteria onto another domain inevitably incurs a
narrowing of perspective and a corresponding warping of judgment.
The full essay is at "The Children Act."
