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Science Replaces Religion

The general historical trend is that there are phenomena which in ancient times were attributed to acts of god, but later we figured out that god has nothing to do with it.

People thought that storms were cases where God was acting out. Bad things like plagues and famines were assumed to be caused by god wanting to punish people. Clouds, rain, wind, frost, snow, etc were all considered to be something god did manually.

Then, as we learned more about weather, the atmosphere, evaporation, precipitation, and fluid dynamics, we can to understand that something are just processes that run in nature, and do not need an intelligent agent running them.

List of Examples​

Here's a partial but comprehensive list of things that were historically attributed to gods, demons, spirits, or other supernatural forces, across various cultures and time periods. These attributions span natural events, psychological states, diseases, technological phenomena, and more.

Natural Phenomena​

  • Celestial Events
    • Eclipses – Seen as omens or attacks by gods or demons (e.g., dragons devouring the Sun in Chinese mythology).
    • Comets – Interpreted as harbingers of doom or divine messengers.
    • Meteors and shooting stars – Believed to be signs from gods or fallen angels.
    • Aurora borealis – Viewed as spirits of the dead or gods dancing.
  • Weather and Climate
    • Thunder and lightning – Attributed to gods like Zeus (Greek), Thor (Norse), or Indra (Hindu).
    • Rain and drought – Seen as blessings or punishments from deities.
    • Storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes – Viewed as acts of wrathful gods or demons.
    • Rainbows – Believed to be divine messages or paths (e.g., Bifröst in Norse mythology).
  • Geological Events
    • Earthquakes – Believed to be caused by gods’ anger, titans shifting, or subterranean demons.
    • Volcanoes and eruptions – Attributed to gods living inside (e.g., Vulcan for Romans, Pele in Hawaii).
    • Tsunamis and floods – Seen as divine punishment or cleansing acts (e.g., the Great Flood myths).

Biological And Medical Conditions​

  • Diseases and Epidemics
    • Plagues and pandemics – Believed to be divine punishment or curses by angry gods or demons.
    • Epilepsy – Known as the “sacred disease” in ancient times, thought to be demonic possession.
    • Mental illness – Often attributed to spirit possession, curses, or demonic influence.
    • Sleep paralysis – Blamed on night demons (e.g., incubi/succubi, Old Hag).
    • Death in childbirth or miscarriage – Attributed to curses, evil spirits, or divine displeasure.
    • Lameness, blindness, and deformities – Seen as signs of sin, demonic interference, or divine tests.
  • Healing and Recovery
    • Miraculous recovery – Attributed to divine intervention or blessings.
    • Fertility and childbirth – Often under the domain of fertility gods or goddesses.
  • Speciation - the large number of different kinds of animals on earth was explained by creationists as being the personal handiwork of god. Those same creationists then invented Intelligent Design as a way to give god credit for variations of animals along lines of descent. The theory of biology is accepted by 99% of all biologists, and there seems no longer any need for a god to make animals change over time.

Psychological And Cognitive Phenomena​

  • Voices or visions – Interpreted as communication with gods, spirits, or demons.
  • Schizophrenia and delusions – Seen as spiritual possession or divine madness.
  • Depression or mania – Attributed to curses, sin, or divine trials.
  • Dreams – Often interpreted as messages from gods or ancestors.
  • Out-of-body or near-death experiences – Explained as the soul visiting the afterlife.

Technological And Scientific Developments​

  • Fire – Seen as a divine gift (e.g., Prometheus in Greek myth).
  • Magnetism and static electricity – Thought to be magical or spiritual forces.
  • Solar and lunar cycles – Interpreted as part of divine cosmology or influence.
  • Astronomy – Early astrology viewed planets and stars as gods or omens.
  • Alchemy and chemistry – Associated with magical transformation and divine secrets.
  • Sound phenomena (echoes, thunder) – Believed to be the voices of spirits or gods.
  • Compasses and lodestones – Considered magical objects with spiritual guidance.

Social And Cultural Phenomena​

  • Kingship and political authority – Often legitimized by claiming divine right or descent from gods.
  • Victory in war – Attributed to divine favor or protection.
  • Failure or loss – Blamed on divine wrath, curses, or betrayal.
  • Madness in battle (berserking) – Thought to be divine or demonic possession.
  • Homosexuality, infertility, or other gender nonconforming behavior – Attributed to curses or demonic influence (in some traditional views).
  • Unexplained disappearances or deaths – Blamed on faeries, demons, or angry spirits.

Miscellaneous And Supernatural Interpretations​

  • Mirrors breaking or animals behaving strangely – Seen as omens or spirit activity.
  • Deja vu – Considered a sign of past-life memories or divine insight.
  • Possession or exorcism rituals – Addressed what are now known as psychological or medical issues.
  • Witchcraft and sorcery – Blamed for illnesses, misfortunes, or unnatural events.
  • Luck and fate – Believed to be controlled by gods (e.g., the Fates in Greek mythology).
  • Left-handedness or birthmarks – Viewed as signs of the devil or divine mark.

Natural Objects And Places​

  • Mountains, rivers, trees – Deified or believed to be homes of spirits.
  • Sacred groves or springs – Associated with healing or divine presence.
  • Unusual rocks or meteorites – Thought to be gifts from the gods (e.g., Black Stone of Mecca).
  • Sacred animals – Worshipped or feared due to perceived divine qualities (e.g., cats in Egypt, cows in India).

Ancient Misunderstandings​

See Ancient Misunderstandings for a list of phenomena that people attributes to gods in the past, but have since been discovering natural forces that account for the what used to be thought of as supernatural.

Conclusion​

"I would challenge anyone here to think of a question upon which we once had a scientific answer, however inadequate, but for which now the best answer is a religious one." - Sam Harris

What else? the conclusion can only be that there are thing that are attributed today to gods, and which probably aren't directly caused by god. As we learn more and more, we can expect other things to fall.

  • Abiogenesis - the original first life was explained by religion as being caused by god manually during the singular act of creation. Now there are several good theories of abiogenesis but so far none of them are conclusively accepted as correct. Our knowledge in this area is growing rapidly and it is likely that a solid theory will emerge soon, eliminating the need that god did some supernatural act to make life come about.
  • Consciousness - we don't know today how it works, but given the trend it is conceivable that there is a perfectly natural process, maybe even a material process, which explain all the behaviors we observe.
  • The Big Bang - we don't know what caused it, but we might someday.
  • Creation of the Universe - maybe the same as the Big Bang or maybe something larger. This still have to be figured out, but if the former pattern holds out we might soon find that god is not needed for this either.