Given the fact that we now live in the twenty-first century and are the beneficiaries of almost two full centuries of an Industrial Revolution, one might think that we would no longer rely on science and religion as panaceas to distract us from the realities of existence. After all, we now know why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; we do not need to create a common myth involving a chariot and horses pulling a divine being across the sky. We know why the leaves start to fall off trees in the autumn and new buds form in the spring; we do not need a myth about a young girl being kidnapped and dragged down to the underworld, grieving her mother (who happened to be in charge of much of nature) to the point where eternal winter settled over the land, leading to a bizarre coincidence between the god of the underworld (who had done the kidnapping) and the girl’s mother (and so the four seasons). However, in modern times, religion and science remain important for their role in absorbing dissidence in society, preserving an overall aura of order.
One example of the suggested use of religion as a panacea involves attempts to deal with the growing militancy of young people in southern Nigeria. The around the Niger Delta has “been plagued with youth restiveness and this phenomenon has continually taken a heavy toll on human and material resources, peace and development” (Sulaiman, p. 18). This is not a new phenomenon, though; the Niger Delta has long been viewed as an area that involved a great deal of risk, and travel advisories have papered the walls of foreign service agencies around the globe. The primary risk that security warnings identify is the high degree of militancy among the youth. Researchers have suggested strengthening the content of religious and/or moral education throughout the area. These researchers claim that Nigerians have a natural religious bent, and so they argue that it is logical to provide young people with religious training and education. Because most religions emphasize spirituality, moral rectitude, and acting as one’s brother’s keeper, the researchers suggest that this sort of teaching would bring youth militancy under a much greater degree of control (Sulaiman). After all, religion “fosters national unity and development” (Sulaiman, p. 19). Because of the chaos that has engulfed Nigeria in recent years, that sense of national unity could definitely use some reinforcement that other countries might not need. This is why the researches here look at teaching these sorts of classes to the young people of the country might be beneficial.
For those who decry religion as a hotbed of superstition and self-delusion, science is often an attractive alternative. Ostensibly grounded in a foundation of pure reason, science purports to promise true progress achieved through rational means, rather than through the use of such abstractions as faith, grace and the other buzzwords that circulate through the world’s major religions. However, the solutions touted by science are sometimes just as much pie in the sky as some of the half-baked promises that religious institutions offer. That doesn’t keep scientists from trying to come up with answers, though. For example, farmers in Nigeria have long had a difficult time maintaining fertility in their soil, and crop production has suffered as a result. This is a similar phenomenon to the events that led to the Dust Bowl in the early twentieth century in the United States, as farmers either lack the resources, the common sense (or both) to move to a regimen of planting that will preserve the soil quality in the ground while allowing farmers to harvest crops with enough yield to turn a profit and provide enough food for the people in Nigeria. L.S. Ayeni suggests an integration of the use of mineral fertilizers and combined agro-wastes. The end result should be an increase in yield without a resulting decrease in viability for the soil. What makes this a panacea rather than a genuine solution is the network of barriers keeping the bulk of the farmers in Nigeria, who are peasants, from gaining access to the technology that will allow them to implement the solution (Ayeni). The end result is a collection of suggestions and a pile of machinery that often ends up going to waste rather than making a genuine difference.
Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Cat’s Cradle, of course, is evenhanded in its satire, making fun of both science and religion. The “Scripture” in the novel includes The Books of Bokonon; one verse is “Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy” (Vonnegut). The asterisk tells the reader that “foma” refers to “harmless untruths” (Vonnegut). This epigraph is expressive of Vonnegut’s disdain for religious “truth” in all of its forms; he clearly feels that these principles are more fluff and eye candy than anything else. When the narrator asks what life’s secret is, though, it is clear that science’s answers are not any more compelling. Sandra has forgotten what the secret is, but the bartender remembers “they found out something about protein” (Vonnegut). Of course, no one remembers what that something is. According to Vonnegut, neither science nor religion has the answers to life’s questions, although he seems to believe that both institutions will never stop trying to teach answers they do not have.
Works Cited
Ayeni, L.S. “Integrated Plant Nutrition Management: A Panacea for Sustainable Crop Production
in Nigeria.” International Journal of Soil Science 6(1): 19-24. http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/academicjournals/ijss/2011/19-24.pdf
Sulaiman, K.O. “Religious Education as Panacea to Youth Militancy in the Niger Delta of
Southern Nigeria.” IntellectualArchive 1(12): 17-35. http://www.intellectualarchive.com/Journal_Files/IAJ_2012_12.pdf#page=20
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. New York: Dell Publishing, c1998.
