The Connection between Science and Religion in the Age of Plurality of Consciousness: A Research in the Relationship between the Crisis of Meaning and Rationality

The developments of natural sciences in this era evolved our knowledge of the world and humanity. These developments, besides quantitative and qualitative expansion of sciences, gradually shape a “new consciousness” which is naturalistic and because of its influence, challenges the status of religion in understanding and explaining the world, human being and knowledge. So, the “plurality of consciousness” emerged. This plurality between two different sources or methods of knowledge, deeply affected existential qualities of modern human (consciousness, identity and self) and dualized, disengaged and disintegrated these qualities. The crisis of meaning is the result of this plurality of consciousness and fragmentation of identity in modern times. According to this analysis of the crisis of meaning, the question of this research is: “which framework of rationality resolves the plurality of consciousness, and the crisis of meaning?” To answer this question in this research, potentialities of three different frameworks of rationality are examined. These frameworks are foundationalism, non-foundationalism and post-foundationalism. Using critical approach and literature analysis, this research concludes that foundationalism puts religious and scientific consciousnesses in contrast to each other and makes impossible their interaction. On the other side, the result of non-foundationalism is relativism according to which, science and religion cannot communicate. These two rationalities have no solution for plurality of consciousness, so the crisis of meaning persists. A new rationality is necessary to resolve the crisis of meaning. This rationality, post-foundationalism, is a middle way between objectivism of foundationalism and relativism of non-foundationalism. Post-foundationalism can resolve the crisis of meaning, because it can show a way of dialogue between science and religion.