World Religion Day
Daily27 takes its name from Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the right of every person to participate in cultural life and to benefit from scientific progress. This reference offers a suggestive key for thinking about World Religion Day from a broader perspective.
Religion and science have often been presented as domains in permanent tension. However, a more careful reading of the history and philosophy of science shows that this opposition is not inevitable. Some of the most fruitful contemporary debates are located precisely at the intersection of religious pluralism and scientific rationality.
Authors such as Alvin Plantinga have pointed out that strict philosophical naturalism is not a necessary presupposition of science, and that excluding other worldviews can impoverish our understanding of human rationality. From a different angle, John Polkinghorne argued that science and faith are distinct yet complementary ways of approaching reality. Ian Barbour helped to overcome the simplistic narrative of inevitable conflict by proposing models of dialogue without confusing their respective domains. In the context of contemporary science, Francis S. Collins has shown that scientific excellence is compatible with religious faith, without reductionism.
From this perspective, religious pluralism does not appear as an obstacle to scientific progress, but rather as part of a broader epistemological pluralism. A truly universal science—in the spirit of Article 27—should not require the renunciation of ultimate convictions in order to participate in it, but should instead ensure that all people can contribute to shared knowledge.
Celebrating Diversity to Broaden Our Shared Humanity
World Religion Day does not, by itself, resolve religious conflicts or the cultural tensions of the contemporary world. Nor does it claim to do so. Its value lies in something more modest and, at the same time, more enduring: reminding us that spiritual diversity exists, that it deserves recognition, and that it can be a source of good when oriented toward coexistence and human dignity.
At a time when both religion and science risk being ideologically instrumentalized, initiatives like this invite us to broaden our horizons. We do not need less religion or less science, but more shared humanity in both. Celebrating World Religion Day is, ultimately, an invitation to think that the search for meaning, reason, and the desire for a more just world are not opposing paths, but common tasks.
Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Faith and Spirituality Area at Blanquerna-Ramon Llull University