A comparison of scientific inquiry and religious belief as conceptual systems

Analyses of scientific inquiry and religious belief often concentrate on the verification procedures appropriate to each endeavor. Such analyses highlight the dissimilarities between scientific inquiry and religious belief at the expense of overlooking major similarities. This thesis suggests a different focus of analysis. If scientific inquiry and religious belief are analyzed as possible methods by which man attempts to interpret the world, similarities between the two endeavors can be delineated without obscuring the well-known differences. The following similarities are discussed: (1) scientific inquiry and religious belief result from man's psychological need to understand himself vis-a-vis the world; (2) the presuppositions of each reflect this need; (3) the presuppositions of each provide broad guidelines for the development of the explanatory apparatus in each area. Parallels and divergences between the two explanatory frameworks are then captured with the aid of Kuhn's concept of the "disciplinary matrix."