Mythology's Role in Society

So, when we last left this, we were beginning to discuss the role of storytelling in the conversation between religion and science. We need to get a bit more in depth, though, to really appreciate how storytelling functions in our society. I touched on in briefly, but I imagine it would be beneficial to put a little more into it.

The study of storytelling is usually called Mythology. Now, the word Myth is pretty loaded when you talk to both scientific and religious people. It typically gets tossed around as an accusation, as in “Evolution is a myth!” A quick Google search for “creation evolution myth” returns piles upon piles of results advocating one side by calling the other a myth. It is, in short, something of a dirty word.

But not so, say the Anthropologists! Mythologists know that myths are not mere made-up tales to be discounted. Myths are an important vehicle for any culture to communicate understanding of the nature of the world around it, and to try to explain why that nature is the way it is. Many myths, regardless of how fantastic they seem, contain an intrinsic link to the observable world, providing an explanation or an origin for that observation. There is a rather important implication to these myths – that the world around us is a certain way, and often it is entirely beyond our control. Myths are more than stories, they are insights and wisdom, packaged in a way that can be easily comprehended and remembered, even when the factual understanding of a situation is lacking.

So, in my mind, calling a scientific or religious story a Myth is neither inaccurate nor an insult. It is merely an accurate representation of how these narratives function in our society today. For a very long time, there was little conflict between science and religion, mostly due to the fact that there was little factual understanding of the world around us. Even when we began making verifiable discoveries, however, those discoveries were viewed as largely in line with religious principles. Many of history’s greatest minds – Isaac Newton, for example – were deeply religious people seeking to better understand the way God had designed the universe to function.

Things have become somewhat more difficult in the last century, however. There has been a growing belief, on both sides, that in order for a myth to be meaningful it must also be factual, and arguments have erupted over whose facts are accurate. The rise of both the biblical literalism movement and the so-called “new atheism” has driven a large wedge in between science and religion in the public perception. Each side lays claim not only to the truth contained in their myths, but also to factual accuracy. 

This is why approaching both scientific and religious explanations as Myths can provide novel insight. Myths are functionally independent of fact. While a myth can indeed be factual, a myth does not need to be in order to fulfill its primary purpose of noting and explicating the nature of the world around us. Take, for example, the popular American myth of John Henry, the Steel-Drivin’ Man. The historical accuracy of this story is certainly up for debate, but the point of the story is not to report on the events of a race between a convict laborer and a mechanized steam drill. Instead, the story is meant to communicate insight about the “human spirit” and to warn of the dehumanizing risks of the machine age. We tell the story and sing the songs with great enthusiasm not because we believe they are factually accurate but because we believe they reveal something worthwhile and important.

The waters really have been muddied when it comes to science and religion because it seems as though a lot of people have lost track of the distinctions between facts, truths, and myths. The interesting thing is, for most people’s day-to-day lives, the actual facts are relatively unimportant. It does a real estate agent very little good to know that the universe is approximately 14 billion years old, for example. Often times it is the truths contained within these stories – these myths – that become the most important part for us. In some ways, people are beginning to catch on. There is a growing trend of popular engagement with scientific principles and research. Science is being presented not merely as a way to discover new, more accurate facts, but as a way to discover meaningful truths about ourselves and the universe as well.

Scientists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku are more and more writing and speaking directly to the public about not only their scientific research, but about scientific discovery in general. Tyson will soon be on TV hosting a revival of Carl Sagan’s seminal popular science series COSMOS, which famously presented cutting-edge scientific research and discovery in a philosophical, even mythological, context. 

In our next entry, we’re going to go in depth into one small part of this new scientific approach, exploring side by side two creation myths – one built on religion, and one on science, but both surprisingly similar. Stay tuned!