The Difference

The difference between the scientific establishment and the religious establishment is that, though they are both completely human and flawed endeavors, science admits this up front and canonizes multiple mechanisms—logic, the scientific method, welcoming criticism, decentralization, openness to debate—to weed out fraud, corruption, vanity, greed, and other flaws in the hopes that over time, the truth will out. However, religion is beset by all the same toxic horrors of humanity, yet canonizes special pleading, entrenchment, cognitive bias, circular reasoning, intellectual dishonesty, holy warmongering, worshipping ignorance, doublespeak, indistinguishability from fraud (revelation), central authority, sacred cows (or books), and worse and instead pretends to have all the answers from the get-go. Which sounds like more likely to be abused?