The ‘Religion versus Science’ debate can be related to the connection between sleep and consciousness. I do not mean to bash religion, though it may sound like I am, because both science and religion are, by the nature of this argument, necessary and facts of life. It could be said that they balance each other.
When one is asleep they are not connected to the world; the mind disconnects from the nerves of the body almost entirely, and frees itself to dream. These dreams have almost no structure, and the rules can change fluidly, governed only by the limits of our imagination; however, the rules still mimic, or reflect loosely those of reality (physics, logic, and our five senses). We need to sleep, in order to keep sanity. Sleep is our refuge from the world as an escape from reality, as well as the way our body rejuvenates, heals itself, grows, calms and collects itself. When we are not asleep, we are conscious of our surroundings and bound by the laws of physics and our senses directly through our body, to which we are connected by nerves. We can daydream while still awake, but we must always eventually reconnect with the truth of reality. Likewise, if we never sleep, our reality will fade away, becoming blurry with exhaustion. Our body eventually pulls us into a sleep, even without our conscious consent if necessary, to keep us alive.
Religion is like sleep, and science is like being conscious. Religion is not bound by reality, swayed by our hopes, wishes, emotions and beliefs. Religion provides us with support for and defense from harsh reality. Spiritual representations of truth led by religion do not have to be the reality of things, because they are only loosely based on truth. Shadows of reality can be found in religious teachings, as in dreams while sleeping. Our fears and unknowns can be defined as evil in dreams, just as they are in some religious doctrine. But science simply defines unknowns as that: unknown, and not evil. Science uses facts gathered through observations to determine the world around it and the truth of the universe’s mysteries, just as a conscious person uses his/her senses to understand the truth of surroundings. One who is awake sees and experiences the harsh reality of the material world for what it is, and must deal with it. This interaction is what science tries to do through the act of gathering and facing facts, instead of making assumptions or shying away from truth.
This is not to say that there is no truth in religion; perhaps there is more truth in many religious teachings than we will ever come to find through science. I believe humanity needs both religion and science, just like the need for sleep and consciousness, for whatever reason. I like science because it does not assume, does not fabricate truths out of nothing, and does not rule out possibility. Religion is necessary, for its support, faith, and comforting explanations of unknowable unknowns. While religion and our spiritual side are necessary, I believe it is not right to use religion as a crutch in our understanding or view of the world, because it affects our world negatively. Likewise, a view of the world excluding all religious thought may be negative because one could always conclude from shallow facts that there is no purpose to the world of life, or other such pessimistic or empty ideas.