Sir Francis Bacon: The Scientific Revolution And Religion

One of the most important developments in the western intellectual tradition was the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was nothing less than a revolution in the way the individual perceives the world. As such, this revolution was primarily an epistemological revolution -- it changed man's thought process. It was an intellectual revolution -- a revolution in human knowledge. We have read some revolutionary pieces of literature from this period of time that were extremely important for the evolution of science and human thought and what they had in common. But nobody influenced this huge movement more than Sir Francis Bacon, through his works and his legacy. Bacon’s political science appears to separate religion and science. However, Bacon most likely believed that the advancement of humankind and the goal of achieving knowledge involves a complementary relationship between science and religion.

Sir Francis Bacon is best known for the Baconian

Method: an empirical method which was based on experiences and observations of the Natural world that lead to experiments and conclusions. The Baconian Method rejects the old notion of Judgement and Reason as a foundation of knowledge. However, he does consider Reason as being a part of a later step of scientific research and progress – “…to invent is to discover that we know not, and not to recover or resummon that which we already know.” (The Second Book of the Advancement of Learning pp. 222). This method that Bacon promoted consists of reconnecting to nature and regaining control over it, control which was lost by Adam and Eve through the Original Sin. Religion was an important part of Bacon’s life. In order to show this, I will start with a small biography. Sir Francis Bacon was raised in a family which had benefited substantially from the Elizabethan Settlement and the definitive English break with Rome after earlier uncertainties. Bacon’s Cambridge education was entrusted to John Whitgift, master of Trinity College, 1567-1577, who “combined a strong adherence to orthodox Calvinism with an insistence on compliance with the Queen’s will – so much that he became the chief royal ‘enforcer’ in checking the attempts by those who came to be known as Puritans to push the English church further down the path of reform” (Gascoigne 2010). Sir Francis’ mother, Anne Bacon, was a thorough Calvinist but was always concerned that Francis’ opinions ran counter to the “true religion of Christ” (Matthews 2008). His religious upbringing influenced his works, however, there is little evidence to suggest that he remained orthodoxly Calvinist or Puritan. In a sense, Francis Bacon selected the parts he liked from both religions and these parts were the ones that had an impact on his writings. Even though Bacon was against all the controversies that were given birth by the war between different religions, saying that these types of problems are obstacles to achieving knowledge, religion played an important role in his thought process and left a mark in some of his works.
While he wrote no explicitly religious tracts, his utopian novel New Atlantis is probably a close reflection of his own personal beliefs, since such works are normally an opportunity to expound on the author's views. That being the case, we can assume that he was a Christian (his utopia acquires the Christian gospel by miraculous means), but also believed to an overwhelming degree in the importance of scientific inquiry and the freedom of religion, both of which are features of the society he describes.
In Sir Francis Bacon’s “The New Atlantis,” he describes a story which presents science as not separate from religion, but as a new civil religion itself. Bacon is often acknowledged as the father of the modern scientific method, and this metaphor expresses his beliefs on how society was moving in a more scientific direction. However, Bacon in no way denies religion. In the beginning of the story, the sailors are not allowed on Bensalem unless they identify themselves as Christians – “When we were come within six yards of their boat, they called to us to stay, and not to approach farther; which we did. And thereupon the man whom I before described stood up, and with a loud voice in Spanish, asked, ‘Are ye Christians?’ We answered, ‘We were;’ “ (Francis Bacon, The Major Works, New Atlantis, pp. 459). As the sailors spend time on Bensalem and investigate the culture of this hidden society, they learn that while they have a particular reverence for God, they also place a prominent emphasis on honoring aspects of early science. In the “two long and fair galleries” on the island, the citizens have chosen to erect statues of famous inventors and display samples of useful inventions. While they do also claim to have daily rituals that highlight a religious current in the community, they appear to be more concerned with this as an ethical guideline of behavior as opposed to the answer to all creation. On the contrary, the islanders appear very curious and reflect Bacon’s own nature, as he dedicated his life to seeking the truth (in philosophy at the time, and later, promotion of the scientific method).
A modern view would suggest that religion and science are a perfect binary, meaning that they are polar opposites on extreme ends of a particular spectrum.

However, Bacon raises awareness for the idea that while religion and science (and certainly other fields like art, philosophy, etc.) differ in methodology, they relate in that they all seek to discover answers about the same exact questions, namely, “why are we here?” or “what is the nature of reality?” or “how does the world work?” While addressing these fundamental elements to the human experience and to the universe itself, science and faith may be more similar than most current scientists and religious people seem to think. In my own experience, I have found that many ardent Atheists in the sciences look down on the notion of a God, while religious people suggest Atheism to be an empty, cynical outlook. Perhaps these lines are more blurred, and science and faith may not be mutually exclusive, something Bacon may have been trying to show with his

story.