Science And Religion During The Nineteenth Century

As many may have noticed, the most prominent and popular myths about science and religion emerged during the nineteenth century. Some may declare that a dialogue of civilizations led to the emergence of modern science while others may disagree. It is revealed that different areas of the world have contributed to many different aspects of modern science and the development throughout the centuries. Areas around the world such as Asia, Africa and Middle East have demonstrated traditional and non-Western forms of scientific knowledge that is most times left out of the bigger picture. Even though these nations were colonized resulting in their traditions to be secularized and manifested into the norm, these advancements played a role in developing …show more content…
This concentration on health illustrates a grand field of knowledge between science and religion. The main conflict that resides in all non-western areas is whether the practice of science in the West incorporates remarkable African cultures. It is frequently claimed that science, which originated in the West does not particularly reveal African techniques of producing knowledge (Feierman& Janzen 229). Amazingly, in many places within Africa, missionaries established churches based on their own valued principles, involving an adaptation of Christian theology. There became a severe conflict between science and religion through modern universities teaching the new generation post-Enlightenment conventions that secularized scientific understanding (Feierman& Janzen 231). An example of an advancement that occurred in Zambia, a form of burning otherwise known as citemene was practiced and found that phosphate and potash during the burning created highly concentrated soil rich of calcium and improved its physical condition (Feierman& Janzen 233). The world of African knowledge was extremely complex because sources of knowledge were socially constructed. In fact, the authorities containing this knowledge were at the same time active participants of political and social life. Once missionaries appeared to secularize African values, they had a hard time establishing a suitable role for medicine within the culture once Christian traditions set in. These individuals were determined to create new domains of both science and religion. Nancy Hunt names these colonizers as ‘middle figures’ because they, “were fully grounded in their own African societies and had an institutive understanding of local social practices that Europeans could never achieve, yet they also had an