Religion, concerned with the existence of a transcendental force or the realm of the supernatural, has remained an integral part of social life from time immemorial. With the onset of ‘modernity’ and the ‘Age of Reason’, the rationalists believed that in due course of time, religion would lose its authority in shaping the contours of the individual as well as collective life. However, the fact is that religion not only has remained one of the most robust social institutions of society but has al…
Read moreReligion, concerned with the existence of a transcendental force or the realm of the supernatural, has remained an integral part of social life from time immemorial. With the onset of ‘modernity’ and the ‘Age of Reason’, the rationalists believed that in due course of time, religion would lose its authority in shaping the contours of the individual as well as collective life. However, the fact is that religion not only has remained one of the most robust social institutions of society but has also been flourishing in its new avatars. Drawing upon historical and contemporary sources, this article argues that while science and rationality have the potential to liberate mankind from various natural and social constraints, it is religion (non-rational) that brings order and meaning in social life. Rational and non-rational, if understood properly, do not share an antagonistic but a relation of complementarity. Irrationality injects fissiparousness into society, but non-rationality supports the cohesion of society.
