Scientific Achievements, Secular Ethics and the „Borderline Character“ of Religion
The last 2500 years of scientific development tell a story of „disenchantment“ and „humanization“ of the worldview. Three levels become particularly clear in this process:
1. Scientific Achievements
The Closing of the “God of the Gaps”
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From the Ionian natural philosophers through Newton, Darwin, Pasteur to modern genetics, relativity theory and neuroscience, science has explained more and more phenomena that were previously attributed to divine or demonic forces (diseases, natural disasters, biodiversity, the cosmos).
Historically, religion served as a „gap filler“ for the unexplained. With every scientific advance, this space has shrunk. The universe increasingly appears as a causally connected, natural system – without the need for constant supernatural intervention.
2. Ethics – Human Development, Not Religious Revelation
Ethics is not a religious invention, but an „experience-based, human achievement“. The Golden Rule (“Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself”) emerged independently in many cultures (Confucius, Hinduism, Greek philosophy) long before the major religions.
Philosophically, it is justified by:
– „Empathy and reciprocity“ (evolutionarily anchored),
– „Ethics of reason“ (Kant, Aristotle),
– „Utilitarianism“ and „contract theories“ (Rawls).
Secular ethics even corrects moral errors of religious systems (e.g. slavery, discrimination) and enables nuanced, context-sensitive morality. Progress such as the abolition of slavery or human rights often advanced against religious resistance.
3. Religion as a “Borderline Structure” – Black-and-White Thinking
Many religions (especially the Abrahamic ones) are based on an extreme „dualism“ (good vs. evil, God vs. devil, believers vs. non-believers) that shows structural similarities to the „splitting“ seen in borderline personality disorder:
– No shades of grey: The world is divided into absolutely good or absolutely evil – exactly as in BPD, where idealization can instantly flip into complete devaluation (“Love is hate, hate is love”).
– Emotional extremization: Holy verses and narratives emotionally charge this dichotomy and reduce complexity.
– Function: Both serve to cope with fear and uncertainty through strong simplification.
While BPD is an individual disorder, religious dualism is a collective cognitive pattern that created order in pre-modern societies, but today often hinders nuanced thinking.
Overall Picture
Science has largely taken over the „explanatory“ functions of religion.
Secular ethics has taken over the „moral“ functions as an autonomous, human achievement.
The remaining core of many religions often shows a „primitive, dualistic way of thinking“ that does not do justice to the complexity of reality (and of human beings).
**Conclusion:**
Through science, reason and empathy, humans become mature and autonomous.
Religion increasingly appears as a developmental-historical transitional phase – useful in times of limited knowledge, but surmountable through a more mature, nuanced worldview.
We no longer need absolute extremes to be moral or to understand the world. Instead, we gain autonomy, compassion and intellectual honesty. This is not a loss, but a major step in human maturation.
Jogy Thomas Wolfmeyer
Austrian Philosopher
Edited with AI