The compatibility of faith and reason has been up for debate for centuries. Where one lies on the two ideologies coexistence is based primarily on opinion. To me, there is a strong, congruous relationship between faith and reason. Faith-based claims and reason-based claims do not contradict each other, thus can both be true. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher and theologian, positioned the compatibility within the Roman Catholic population in stating, “It is rational to believe in God and spirits and other religious claims. Reason and Faith are compatible with one another as is Science and Religion because there is but one truth. The basic religious beliefs are compatible with reason.” (Anton C. Pegis, 1995) In recent years this idea has been reaffirmed by Pope John Paul II (1998). If faith builds on reason, and faith and reason are both understood as ways of uncovering a truth, and all truths can be deemed as reconcilable with one another, then faith is consistent with reason. If one can understand faith and reason correctly, there should be no conflict between what faith’s truths include, and the truths behind reason.
Now, there is confusion in regard to what faith and reason truly are. Reason is simply the ability to know any kind of truth, more specifically; reason is the ability to understand and prove things. Faith, however, is the supernatural ability to believe in God about what God says. Many fail to comprehend how the two can coincide but based on the idea of reason as a method of assessment and faith being an innate feeling of trust, the two come together for a greater level of understanding.
Reason assesses whether or not something or someone is trustworthy, while faith comes into action when the truth of the belief comes to light because of the reasons at hand. A common misconception is when faith is understood as the opposite of reason. Their opposition is inaccurate, as the opposite of faith is unbelief. Unbelief can also be accepted as a lack of trust. Similarly, the opposite of reason can’t be faith as it is irrationality. Their supposed opposition can’t conclude to incompatibility because it is extremely possible to have reasonable faith or an unreasonable unbelief.
In David Horner’s Mind Your Faith, he explores the symbiotic relationship between faith and reason. He states that one of the biggest objections to religion from the New Atheists is the idea of blind faith. Blind faith is defined as having complete confidence in someone or something without any reason to do so. The New Atheists’ perspective leads to the conclusion that followers of a religion believe in things for which there is no evidence. These differences of opinion ultimately result in conflict between faith and reason. But Horner believes Christians are people of reason and faith, not people of blind faith. So, the idea of their incompatibility derives from a common misrepresentation of faith. The relationship between faith and reason as a partnership, working together in hopes to acquire more knowledge, is also illustrated in Catholic teachings.
Catholicism respects and highlights the important role of reason in the understanding and expression of the Christian faith. Richard McBrien, professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, emphasizes the relationship in his book about Catholicism. McBrien enforces the idea that even though Catholics have faith, the supernatural ability to believe in God about what God says, they must utilize reason in order to comprehend faith in text. “For Catholicism it is never sufficient merely to repeat the words of Sacred Scripture or even of official doctrinal pronouncements. The critical faculties must also be applied to the data of faith if we are to understand it and appropriate it and then put it into practice.” (McBrien, R. P. 1992). Faith and reason aren’t oppositional forces but united forces, meaning faith requires reason for comprehension. Proving their compatible, symbiotic relationship.
Similarly, Aquinas sees reason and faith as two basic examples of knowledge. Reason dictates what one can know simply by logic and experience. With reason, one can conclude that there is a God and that God is a single entity, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-forgiving. Aquinas also believes that these specific truths about understanding God as one, powerful being can be obtained by anyone from just experience and logic; meaning no remarkable revelation from God, himself is required. (Anton C.Pegis, 1995) From experiences and logic, reason comes into play. Reason’s role is to deem authenticity on something or someone, whether that be a personal experience or not. Based on the verification by reason, faith will constitute what things are true in light of the reasons presented.
Pope John Paul II addressed the topic of faith and reason in his encyclical letter to the bishops of the Catholic church, “Fides Et Ratio.” The letter was written in hopes of supporting and defending traditional Christian philosophy, stressing that faith and reason together allow people to understand and love God. The conclusion of the letter led to the presumption that God and truth are one and the same and that both reason and faith are needed to understand this certainty. Richard J. Bernstein, American philosopher, responded to the letter saying, “there is no incompatibility between reason and faith, but rather an ultimate harmony. Faith is not opposed to reason; rather, it requires the full development of reason. And reason itself requires faith in order to strengthen, guide, …” (Richard J. Bernstein. 1999). Thus, exemplifying their reliance on each other.
Humans are driven by the desire to unveil the ultimate truth of existence, attempting to gain the universal elements that make up knowledge. Uncovering the truth behind our existence would allow for complete comprehension around ourselves, as beings, and further advance our purpose and end goal for life. The discovery of truth is a recipe of two ingredients mixing, faith and reason. Lacking one will belittle any knowledge, especially regarding human existence, the universe, and God. Faith and reason are building blocks of truth. Due to the fact that faith and reason are both methods of recognizing truth and all truths are consistent with each other; faith is compatible with reason. If one can understand faith and reason correctly, the conflict will cease to exist between the conclusions of faith and reason.