Emily Flores
Science has a knack for challenging what we thought we knew by replacing old stories with new facts. Yet, some beliefs persist—passed down, deeply felt, and often untouched by the reach of research. So what keeps them alive? Sometimes, it’s more than just evidence that matters. The following article takes a closer look at twenty enduring beliefs science has debunked, but faith continues to uphold.
The Earth Is Only A Few Thousand Years Old
Radiometric dating reveals that Earth’s age is approximately 4.54 billion years. Additionally, geological layers and fossil records indicate that life has developed over hundreds of millions of years. Australian rocks predate moon samples, while tree rings from ancient pines exceed 10,000 years of age.
Earth’s Climate Is Controlled By Divine Will
For centuries, weather extremes were seen as acts of divine will. Today, climate science explains temperature shifts through measurable factors like greenhouse gas emissions, solar activity, and atmospheric patterns, revealing that Earth’s climate responds to physical forces rather than supernatural intervention.
A Global Flood Covered The Entire Earth
Geological records show no evidence of a global flood in the last 10,000 years—only regional ones. Yet flood stories appear in many cultures, likely shaped by shared local disasters. The “Epic of Gilgamesh” and other ancient Mesopotamian writings featured flood legends that came long before the account of Noah’s ark in the Bible.
The Universe Was Created In Six Literal Days
Scientific cosmology estimates that the universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. The time it takes starlight to reach Earth discredits a young cosmos. Some galaxies’ light travels billions of years, while the cosmic microwave background offers a snapshot from the universe’s infancy.
Prayer Can Heal Any Illness
Controlled medical studies demonstrate no consistent healing effect from prayer alone. Any perceived benefit aligns with placebo influence. Although prayer may lower stress, which can indirectly aid recovery, it lacks measurable efficacy. Nevertheless, many hospitals still maintain prayer rooms for comfort and tradition.
Mental Health Struggles Seen As Spiritual Weakness
The old belief that mental illness reflects weak faith fades in light of psychiatric and neurological understanding. Conditions like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia stem from genetics, brain chemistry, and life experiences—far removed from any notion of spiritual failure or cosmic punishment.
The Human Body Contains An Immaterial Soul
Brain science consistently ties consciousness to physical neural activity, with identity emerging from brain function itself. Shifts in personality after injury suggest selfhood is biologically rooted. Even out-of-body experiences have been artificially produced in labs through specific stimulation of brain regions.
Illness Is Caused By Sin Or Demonic Possession
Medical science links illness to biological processes, instead of moral failings. Germ theory and neuroscience explain how diseases develop, replacing older beliefs. Before microbes were understood, “bad air” was blamed, and conditions like epilepsy were misinterpreted as possession that led to treatments like exorcism.
Xenu And The Galactic Overlords
Scientology teaches that 75 million years ago, a galactic ruler named Xenu sent billions of alien souls to Earth, where they were trapped and now fuel human suffering. This belief has no scientific support and remains one of the religion’s most controversial origin stories.
Virgin Births Are Biologically Possible In Humans
Human reproduction depends on genetic material from two parents, with rare cases of parthenogenesis. Though some reptiles and fish reproduce asexually, this process hasn’t been observed in humans. Scientists have induced virgin births in mice, but not successfully in people.
The Earth Is The Center Of The Universe
Physics confirms no celestial body holds a central position. The universe expands uniformly in all directions, and Earth resides on a minor galactic arm. Surprisingly, each galaxy sees itself at the center due to spatial expansion. Cosmic background radiation affirms this decentralization.
Astrological Events Cause Natural Disasters
Astrological events like eclipses or alignments make headlines, yet they carry no actual weight in causing disasters. Earthquakes begin deep in the crust, where planetary orbits have no say. Atmospheric chaos also doesn’t care about Mercury’s path. People blamed a supermoon once, but nothing changed on Earth.
Sacrifices Can Appease Deities
Ritual sacrifice seems more rooted in tradition than in actual influence over nature. In some traditions, crops were offered to show gratitude or seek blessings, while animals were spared. The term “scapegoat” comes from rites that placed blame on one animal, then expelled it.
Left-Handedness Is Evil Or Unholy
Left-handedness isn’t a moral flaw—it’s simply how the brain organizes movement. There’s no behavioral evidence linking handedness to character. The word “sinister” actually comes from the Latin for “left.” Interestingly, left-handed individuals are frequently found in creative professions like painting, music, and architectural design.
Comets And Eclipses Are Omens
Comets and eclipses once stirred fear, seen as divine warnings or cosmic judgments. In reality, astronomers track them with precise calculations. Ancient Chinese scholars predicted eclipses long before modern tools existed. Halley’s Comet, for instance, has returned on schedule for over 2,000 years without magical consequences.
The Dead Can Return As Ghosts
There is no confirmed evidence of ghostly appearances, no matter how many accounts exist. Experiences described as hauntings are often due to sleep paralysis or brain responses under pressure. Scientists have even triggered similar sensations in controlled settings using electrical brain stimulation.
Women Are Spiritually Inferior Or Unclean
Nothing in human biology or cognitive science supports the notion that women are spiritually lesser. Neuroscience confirms gender parity in mental performance, yet there are still menstrual taboos persistent in some regions. Female brains perform equally across every domain studied, debunking long-held spiritual myths.
Hell Is A Literal Underground Place
Dig deep into the Earth, and you’ll hit magma, not souls. Science has mapped Earth’s layers in detail, leaving no room for a fiery pit of punishment. Still, the belief in a subterranean hell persists, largely driven by centuries-old metaphors and Dante’s vivid imagination.
Humans And Dinosaurs Lived At The Same Time
Fossil records show dinosaurs went extinct around 66 million years ago, while anatomically modern humans only appeared about 300,000 years ago. There’s a gap of over 65 million years between them. No credible scientific evidence supports the idea that humans ever walked alongside dinosaurs.
The Universe Rests On A Giant Turtle
Some traditional myths describe the world as being carried on the back of a turtle, sometimes with elephants stacked on top. These cosmologies are symbolic or poetic but are contradicted by modern astrophysics, which shows Earth orbiting in space due to gravity.