Concerning the matter of religion and if it is better to have religious beliefs, even though they are false, than to have no religious beliefs at all, one would have to ask if religion is a search for the truth or not. Bertrand Russell said, "Philosophy, like all other studies, aims primarily at knowledge."(1) It can be safely said of any religion that it too aims at knowledge and for the sake of argument, we will accept that is one of its primary aims. But, is aiming at knowledge really the point. Should we not ask what is the value of the knowledge being aimed at? If the knowledge is true, or if it is false, will have a great impact upon the value a person studying it will place on it. It would be hard to defend any system of belief that knowingly aimed at recognized falsehoods. I think it is fair to say that anyone that has a set of religious beliefs is going to feel quite strongly that they are true beliefs and not false ones, and contend that there is value in the knowledge of and faith placed in that system of beliefs.
In examining this question it is only fair that the religion examined, in the context of this paper, is the Christian belief. It wouldn't be fair, because I come from a Judeo-Christian background, to try to examine religious beliefs that I am insufficiently acquainted with. Knowing that human nature and human religions are probably very similar from one society to the next, non-Christians will be able to apply the same principles discussed in this paper to their own system of belief.
Let's accept the premise that an individual is unlikely to believe in a religion knowing that it is false, instead, that individual is going to feel quite strongly that his set of religious beliefs are true and not false. If there is a problem in religious beliefs, it isn't going to be because they are accepted even though false, it will be in the manner, the spirit, and the atmosphere that the knowledge is studied. It seems that Bertrand Russell says that as he continues his statement by stating the criteria with which he believed knowledge should be studied: "The knowledge that [philosophy] aims at is the kind of knowledge . . . which results from a critical examination of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices, and beliefs."(2) I would like to present the proposition that the value of religious beliefs is based on the method they are arrived at.
In order for an individual to honestly and critically examine his beliefs and compare them with another viewpoint he will first have to accept the following:
1) That the other viewpoint just maybe could be correct, be able to grant that the author of the other viewpoint is also intelligent, and allow validity to the logic and reasoning that the viewpoint was arrived at even though he may not agree with it.
2) That his viewpoint is not written in stone, that it could be wrong, and accept the fact that as a human being he is not infallible, and because he is subject to, in fact prone to, error there is always a probability that any of his beliefs could be in error.(3) Let us evaluate the effect religion has on the search for truth by its ability to follow these conditions.
If we examine what is taught in the Christian's bible we see that they should have no problems in searching critically for the truth because it says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: ..."(4) Christ is quoted as teaching "the truth shall make you free."(5) If there is a God, it would seem that he would be a lover of truth and that he would want us to be lovers of truth also. He would not demand blind belief or blind faith. He would realize that faith and belief have no meaning, no value, except by being tried by critical examination and questioning. And he would not hold it against us for questioning, in fact, how could he respect our beliefs unless we were always questioning them to see if they were true or not. One of the disciples of Christ seems to say this: ". . . believe not every spirit, but try the spirits."(6) The conclusion would seem to be, that by the teachings of the Bible and by what we should understand about a fair and loving God, that religion would not be a problem in the search for truth, in fact, that should be the goal of religion the same as it is of philosophy.
However, in practical Christianity, the religion as exemplified in the lives and practices of its proponents, too often the opposite seems to be occurring. It seems to be very difficult for a religious person to question their beliefs when they have been taught from their very beginnings that their way to salvation is in believing in God in the manner with which they have been taught. In the Christian community it is most often taught that ones relationship with God depends on something called belief or faith and one can only find favour with God by unquestioningly maintaining that belief or faith. It becomes a matter of blasphemy to question the beliefs of their religion, because they then will have "lost faith" in the God of their religious system and will have fallen out of favour with their God.
How a religious person reacts to a critical examination of their beliefs is the determining factor if religious beliefs help or hinder in the search for truth. If we unquestionably believe in a religious system of any kind, no matter if it is absolutely correct, can we really say we believe. Belief, in order to have any meaning or value, has to be built upon critical examination to determine if it is true or not. Belief should mean that we have examined and are continuing to examine to the best of our ability to see if there is any falsehood to a statement, or if there is merit and truth to the statement before we put belief to it.
"But because a man is not permitted without censure to follow his own thought in the search of truth . . .,"(7) because the value of beliefs is in their truthfulness, and in the light of the practical demonstration of religion there isn't the understanding nor the ability to critically examine beliefs or philosophical studies, or to search for honest truth, I would have to conclude that religion not only poses a problem to the search for truth, it in fact becomes an insurmountable barrier to the search for truth, and it must be concluded that religion basically negates the search for truth. The person who values truth will often find himself in conflict with religious establishment, and how one views the religious system of his community will depend on his value of truth.
1. Philosophy, The Quest for Truth, p. 19
2. Ibid, p.19, emphasis mine
3. It should be noted that this realization is what led Descartes to come to the conclusion that the one true thing he could be sure of was, "Cogito, ergo sum."
4. Isaiah 1:18
5. John 8:32
6. I John 4:1
7. John Locke. Philisophy, The Quest for Truth, p. 122