A Critical Examination of Harari's Perspective on the Decline of Religion

Yuval Noah Harari, a professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, emphasizes the significant impact of imagination on man’s social life and describes religion as a constructed reality that has played an important role in human life. According to him, with the advent of the scientific revolution and the focus on scientific discoveries, there was no longer a place for religion. As a result, religion, due to its mythological and justification-based nature, faced a kind of decline. This paper, using a descriptive-analytical method, presents a coherent explanation of Harari's scattered theories and evaluates his statements. It is shown that by examining the intrinsic content of true religion (such as Islam) and the practical conduct of believers, it becomes clear that such a religion has never been opposed to science. Therefore, what has stood in the way of human progress is a deviation in religion, not the essence of religion. Moreover, considering the role of religion in fulfilling many psychological and spiritual needs and even in properly guiding scientific achievements, one cannot deny the active role and functions of religion. Negligence towards these aspects of religion and the consequent negative outcomes in human life have led to new tendencies toward religion among many intellectuals.