Science encourages religion in the long run (and vice versa)

Edge.org, a sort of online (invitation-only) salon for science-literate public intellectuals, poses a question each year to all of its members and then prints all of the answers it receives.  It calls the whole thing "The World Question Center".

For 2006, Edge posed this question:

WHAT IS YOUR DANGEROUS IDEA?

The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?

Scott Atran, about whose book I have been blogging lately, submitted an answer which begins to reveal some of the personal conclusions he draws from his research on religion:

You can find it here:

Science encourages religion in the long run (and vice versa)

Further insight into Atran's understanding of the relationship of science and religion can be found here, in a transcript of some of his remarks at a conference called Beyond Belief, held at the Salk Institute in November, 2006