{"id":288,"date":"2020-04-22T12:10:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T05:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/?p=288"},"modified":"2020-04-24T14:57:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-24T07:57:37","slug":"pseudoscience-pseudoreligion-di-tengah-wabah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/opini\/pseudoscience-pseudoreligion-di-tengah-wabah\/","title":{"rendered":"Pseudoscience and Pseudoreligion in the Midst of an Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahmad Muttaqin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Humans are remarkably fragile. The arrogance shown in managing and exploiting nature is\nbeing challenged<\/p>\n

Various methods, ranging from scientific approaches to spiritual practices, are being employed\nto combat the new Coronavirus. The healthcare sector is at the forefront, providing assistance\nand treatment to patients while working tirelessly to develop a vaccine for prevention.\nMeanwhile, the economic and social sectors are striving to mitigate the pandemic's impact,\nwhich has severely affected the industrial sector, trade in goods and services, and social life.\nAt the same time, religious organizations are also offering spiritual support through prayer\nand comforting rituals.<\/p>\n

Many people are questioning whether the new Coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, which\ncauses Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), is a result of a natural process or human\nengineering. Proponents of conspiracy theories often argue that this virus was deliberately\ncreated in a laboratory for various interests, such as serving as a biological weapon or\nbenefiting the vaccine and pharmaceutical industries. This article will not explore the pros and\ncons regarding the virus's origin. Instead, it will examine the level of \"scientific reasoning and\nreligious reasoning\" reflected in the various responses from different parties in addressing the\nCovid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the origin of the virus and the lack of a vaccine and cure for\nCovid-19, it is ideal to address this pandemic using a combination of scientific methods and\nreligious beliefs. Science and technology serve to prevent, treat, and manage the physical\nimpacts of Covid-19, while religion provides spiritual support, helping individuals remain\nsteadfast and resilient in their faith.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ironically, much of the information circulating in society and on social media about Covid-19\nhas questionable scientific validity because it has not been scientifically proven. This\ninformation is often presented in a way that uses convincing language to appear scientific,\neven though it does not meet the standards of scientific credibility. This type of knowledge is\nreferred to as pseudoscience Pseudoscience<\/em>).\u00a0 Robert Todd Carroll<\/a> defenese\u00a0pseudoscience<\/i>\u00a0\u201ca set of ideas put forth as scientific when they are not scientific<\/i>.\u201d Menurut Richard H. Bube<\/a>, pseudoscience<\/em> resembles real science; it employs scientific terminology and claims scientific authority, but\nfundamentally violates the core principles of genuine scientific activity.<\/p>\n

The English-language Wikipeda<\/a> page outlines several indicators that can classify knowledge or information as pseudoscience<\/em>These indicators include: 1. The use of excessive, unclear, or\nuntestable claims. 2. Overreliance on confirmation rather than seeking refutation. 3. A lack of\nopenness to testing by other experts. 4. No progress in correcting findings or in adding\nevidence, arguments, and statistical data. 5. Personalization of the issue by labeling critics as\nenemies, adopting a conspiratorial perspective toward scientific communities that offer \ncriticism, and attacking the personal character of those critics. 6. The use of misleading\nlanguage that incorporates \"scientific\" terms to persuade the general public.<\/p>\n

The Republika<\/a> page once published an article discussing the rise of pseudoscience<\/em>\u00a0in medicine\nwithin society. This phenomenon is characterized by several factors: 1. Adhering to theories\nwithout sufficient research, often presenting explanations that seem\u00a0too good to be true<\/em>such as claims of miracle drugs that can cure a variety of diseases. 2. Building arguments\u00a0based on ancient wisdom<\/em>\u00a0or inherited beliefs. 3. all-natural fallacy<\/em>\u00a0which suggests that anything natural is\ninherently safe, while anything synthetic is always harmful. 4.\u00a0suppressed miracle,<\/em>\u00a0which involve narratives of miraculous cures accompanied by exaggerated claims and personal it worked for me<\/em>\u00a0testimonies stating that a particular treatment worked for them.<\/p>\n

From a religious perspective, much of the knowledge and information circulating in society is\nbased not on genuine religiongenuine religion<\/em>but\u00a0pseudoreligion\u00a0<\/em>sometimes written as pseudo-religion, <\/em>atau disebut juga Pseudo-Theology<\/em>). Menurut Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia Edisi V (KBBI V), pseudo<\/em> artinya: semu, palsu, bukan sebenarnya. Jadi, secara harfiah pseudoreligion\u00a0<\/em>berarti agama semu, agama palsu, atau agama gadungan. Dalam \u201cReligion and pseudo-religion: an elusive boundary<\/em>\u201d, Sami Pihlstr\u00f6m<\/a> (2007) menggunakan istilah \u201cPseudo-religion<\/em>\u201d dalam pengertian superstition\u00a0<\/em>(takhayul, bid\u2019ah dan khurafat) dan sesuatu yang mendekati \u201chypocrisy<\/em>\u201d (kemunafikan).<\/p>\n

From a religious perspective, much of the knowledge and information circulating in society is\nbased not on genuine religion but on pseudoreligion (sometimes written as pseudo-religion\nor referred to as pseudo-theology). According to the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian\nLanguage Edition V (KBBI V), \"pseudo\" means fake, false, or not real. Therefore,\npseudoreligion literally refers to a false or fake religion. In his work \"Religion and\nPseudoreligion: An Elusive Boundary,\" Sami Pihlstr\u00f6m (2007) uses the term \"pseudoreligion\"\nto describe superstition, heresy, and concepts related to hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

Several factors can contribute to the classification of religious knowledge as pseudo, fake, or\ncounterfeit. These include: 1. Inappropriate references to sacred texts, often lacking proper\ncontext. 2. Using past events in analogies that are not relevant or appear forced. 3. Creating\nsimplistic future predictions based on religious texts. 4. Manipulating religious teachings for\nspecific motives, such as political or economic gain, or to discredit and exploit certain groups.<\/p>\n

Is there a relationship between pseudoscience and pseudoreligion? It turns out there is a\nsignificant overlap between the two. A notable example is the exaggerated belief that certain\nherbal remedies, prayers, and rituals can ward off or cure Covid-19. This belief is often\naccompanied by explanations that seem scientific but rely on misinterpretations of sacred\ntexts, ignoring their original context. Additionally, these claims are often bolstered by\nanecdotal stories of past successes, while lacking substantial data and research evidence.\nAnother example is the assertion made by a particular religious group that the coronavirus is\nintimidated by its congregation due to their performance of specific rituals. This has led to an\nattitude of underestimating the importance of health protocols that should be observed.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the hard work of communities from various cultural and religious\nbackgrounds, it is essential to be discerning when evaluating the information circulating about\nthe Covid-19 pandemic. We must differentiate between legitimate science and\npseudoscience, as well as between genuine religious beliefs and pseudoreligion. This\ndistinction requires a solid understanding of both scientific and religious literacy. Ongoing\nefforts to bridge the gap between science and religion are crucial. Without such efforts, the\nunchecked proliferation of pseudoscience and pseudoreligion could worsen the current crisis\nand negatively impact society.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahmad Muttaqin   Betapa ringkih manusia itu. Kesombongan dan kepongahan yang selama ini dipamerkan dalam mengatur dan mengeksploitasi alam sedang kena batunya. Berbagai cara, dari yang berbasis ilmu pengetahuan (sains) hingga spiritual (agama), dilakukan untuk menanggulangi Virus Corona Baru ini. Dunia kesehatan berada di garda depan memberi pertolongan dan pengobatan para pasien dan berlomba mencari … Continue reading Pseudoscience and Pseudoreligion in the Midst of an Epidemic<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[15,20,25,24,26],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opini","tag-ahmad-muttaqin","tag-covid-19","tag-pseudoreligion","tag-pseudoscience","tag-wabah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions\/301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiagama.or.id\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}