A brief tangent on religion

I'm not a particularly religious person. Okay, to be perfectly honest, I'm not religious at all. My views on religion are a bit nebulous, but this post won't be a diatribe about it (I promise); I would, however, at least like to shed some light on my thinking.

I'm probably what most people would typically define as "agnostic," i.e. more or less skeptical, but open to being shown proof one way or another about the ultimate existence of some sort of creator. In my mind (as a true-blue scientist), I roll my eyes cynically at people who deny climate change or evolution as mere "theories," not understanding the scientific terminology and unwilling to acknowledge the mountains of evidence supporting those and many other universally-accepted scientific claims. However, lately I've been really enjoying hearing (of all people) Pope Francis' opinions on the interplay between religion and science: stating things like "Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve" or "The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it."

Pope Francis, in case you've been living under a rock (image courtesy of The Huffington Post)

Pretty neat, if you ask me, that the religious leader with perhaps the widest reach isn't interested in stoking the fires of an anti-science crusade. And in my mind, his point tickles my agnostic sentiments just right: it's human nature to want to fill in the blanks in our knowledge and understanding. At this point in time, we can scientifically point to (ongoing) evolution of life on Earth, of a moment where the universe suddenly sprang into being. We're still digging deeper into how life "suddenly" came to exist from the mere presence of organic molecules, and we haven't yet nailed down the specifics of the Big Bang--but until that time where the picture comes into focus, why not attribute these phenomena to the handiwork of something similarly inexplicable, like a deity?

We live in a bizarre age where cold, hard facts are constantly being undermined by authority figures who claim "fake news" and "alternative facts" (cough, cough, Mr. President), which is truly aggravating. Without swerving into the intersection of politics and religion, I've come to find that what really makes me notice a person are the outward, conscientious actions they take. I've stood shoulder-to-shoulder with protesters more often than I would have imagined, recently; I've watched debates and punditry and heated arguments play out across every single possible corner of the TV and internet media; I've read opinion pieces, information dumps and leaks, and press releases until my eyes crossed, and at times I feel like I'm drowning in differing opinions and general contrarianism.

What grounds me, in my daily life, are the reminders of goodness and kindness and reasonableness that strangers are capable of, the moments when pure, unadulterated empathy shines brightly. People are welcome to follow whatever religion they choose to believe, they're welcome to believe in the existence of a creator or not, they're welcome to pick and choose their political opinions and the men and women who represent them from the local to national level. They're welcome to dive into a participatory democracy, or stay back and observe from afar. I will always, always think most highly of those willing to give without the expectation of reciprocation. I believe in the divinity of random acts of kindness, and the sanctity of compassion. Because when we really, REALLY boil it all down, we're the same. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and all that jazz. Just be good, as often as possible.

That's my religion.