Sazetak

Abstract

According to their shared history, the relationship between science and religion was quite dynamic and multidirectional. It is reflected in their unity in the ancient times, the subordination of science to religion in the Middle Ages, and finally in their complete separation in the Renaissance that culminated in the 19th and 20th centuries and took on the new form of atheism. The development of atheistic, anti-metaphysical culture (Rorty 1995) took place alongside the rise of liberalism and individualism. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that even at the beginning of the 21st century political circumstances triggered the debate on religion and its understanding from the political and cultural viewpoint. The confrontation of the atheistic culture with the increasingly pronounced need for religion in those countries where science was on the rise shook the belief that science can compensate for all the needs related to human development. On the one hand, there has been a strong inclination to emphasize the usefulness of religion for the public and private life of an individual, its potential for the restoration of culture, and its creative power to counter the potential consequences of science. On the other hand, new atheists (scientists) endorse the view of scientific progress.

Keywords: religion, science, atheism, culture, technology.