Science Is My Religion

Christianity says

a virgin had a baby.

A man walked on water.

Bread became flesh,

wine became blood.

Entire civilizations have accepted it all because a very old book says

this is fact.

Without specimen, without record.

Without anything that can be tested.

No critical thought is a dangerous thing.

I Thank God that

Science is my religion.

Hinduism says

people return in another life.

Karma keeps count across centuries.

Gods appear

with elephant heads and blue skin.

Entire civilizations have accepted it all

without a bone or a footprint

preserved anywhere on the earth.

How does one simply accept that as truth?

I count myself blessed that

Science is my religion.

Buddhism says a prince sat beneath a tree and thought his way beyond suffering,

While Islam says a prophet rose into heaven

on a winged horse.

Millions have shaped their lives around unseen forces,

following men in robes who are said to possess wisdom,

studying and repeating the stories passed down for centuries

because uncertainty frightens them.

I do not fear uncertainty.

I investigate and question.

I learn

what is fact versus what is fiction, for

Science is my religion.

For science shows us the truths.

That laws that govern the universe.

Professors teach those laws

from the endowed chairs

of the respected,

prestigious institutions.

They studied under those who came before them who inherited the legacy,

the authority.

They possess the knowledge on which words, which texts matter,

which formulas must be memorized,

which ideas merit serious consideration,

and which people are qualified

to speak.

They observe and record,

then submit

thick volumes of knowledge and discourse

to others also trained

in the same tradition,

who determine whether the work may enter the literature.

They separate nature from chaos,

from human subjectivity,

from every contaminating influence,

and reduce it

to measurable variables that can be quantified

in tangible terms.

Kept under controlled conditions until it yields an answer, a truth.

That answer is published in the highest-ranked journals,

preserved in authorized textbooks,

and taught by experts in the oldest institutions.

Their work has been funded, peer reviewed.

Accepted and repeated

by every authority.

Kept free of those who question the validity of scientific theory.

Kept free of those who did not devote their life to the study.

I do not believe in temples or priests.

I do not believe in ancient books

that were written by

God knows who,

that are worshipped by millions for

God knows what reasons.

I believe in facts.

No critical thought is a dangerous thing.

Science is my religion.

Author’s note: I love science. I also hold high respect for different faiths and spirituality. This poem is meant to capture the institutionalization of science, and the oppressive gatekeeping that often accompanies it.

In my view, when science is privileged and exclusionary, it is no longer science: it ceases to be exploratory or progressive, and it no longer focuses on building and sharing knowledge for the betterment of humankind.