Scientific Naturalism and Religious Supernaturalism

Explicating and interpreting natural phenomena is a complex process because many factors including observation، logic، and a variety of methodological، ontological and religious beliefs play a role in it. Using the metaphysical and methodological approaches، scientific naturalism tries to simplify this interpretation by excluding some of the above-mentioned factors. It claims that the methodological naturalism is a necessary part of science and prescribes that in explaining natural phenomena، one should act as if reality consists of nothing but matter. Moreover، it assumes that one can act as if the existence of nonmaterial causes، whether created (mind، spirit) or uncreated (God)، does not make a difference in our understanding of the material world. In this paper، this claim will be reviewed.