Religious science

This refers to A question of faith (June 13) in which psychoanalyst Fritz Hoevels was found to equate free thinking and rationality with atheism. But then how will he explain the attitude scientific personalities like Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler or Abdus Salam who were self-professed believers. Newton, arguably the greatest scientist ever born, was a deeply religious soul. He never shirked from admitting that his aim of life was to decode God’s secret laws for the Universe. But the so-called rationalists confused his theism with dyslexia and mental imbalance.

P.R. Palodhi via email

Inspiring force

With reference to Misguided ideas (June 27), my opinion is that faith in God can never be a hindrance to scientific progress. In fact, faith in divinity inspires qualities such as patience, perseverance and honesty. A God-abiding teenager can be encouraged to pursue scientific quest. Atheism instills indiscipline and waywardliness. Superstition and religious dogmas shouldn’t be confused with spirituality.

Jayanti (Roy) Dutta
Cal-47

Intellectual void

Simone Reissner has correctly pointed out that religion forces people to sacrifice intellect (A question of faith, June 13). Religion appeals to something irrational within us, and this is why it is so dangerous. How fundamentalism can ruin scientific thought is best demonstrated by the collective resistance of some Islamic clerics in Africa and India. Mass administration of fish medicine for asthma patients by traditional Hindu medics is another example of such stupidity.

Kajal Chatterjee
Sodepur

CORRIGENDUM

Karl Schwarzschild’s ideas in astrophysics were inadvertently mentioned as Martin Schwarzschild’s in the article Solitary pursuit (June 27). The error is regretted. Ed