INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE 



science, but between religion and a particular 

 philosophy. 



(d) In the fourth place the application of scien- 

 tific methods of investigation to the forms of 

 religious activity, tends, in the eyes of some at 

 least, to rob them of that mystic atmosphere 

 apart from which the religious spirit cannot 

 breathe. The genetic method has penetrated into 

 the realms of religion, and we read of the evolu- 

 tion of religious ideas, feelings, and rites. They 

 are "explained" and their survival is accounted 

 for. Moreover, the psychologist and even the 

 physiologist has had his innings, and it seems to 

 some as if religious phenomena were losing all their 

 religious character. Like tender plants drawn out 

 from shadowy recesses, they wither quickly in the 

 glare of common day. Little wonder, then, that 

 those to whom religious experience is the greatest 

 reality of their life should regard science as a foe. 



(e) In the fifth place, there is an indubitable 

 contrast between the scientific and the religious 

 mood; they cannot be simultaneous; they are 

 not likely to be equally strong in the same indi- 

 vidual; and there are reasons why the culture of 

 the former is not favourable to the latter. It 

 is important to inquire into these reasons. How 

 far is the opposition essential and necessary? 

 How far is it due to the limitations of our faculties 

 and to misunderstanding? 



