Abstract

There have always been controversial thoughts on the idea that religion and science could coincide. My personal experience of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, led me to question how science and religion could unite as one perspective on the eclipse. Durkheim’s idea of collective consciousness brings together a well-rounded approach to the concept of uniting science with the behavioral and emotional side of the experience. The connection between collective consciousness and my Christian practices with illustrations from the Bible brings forth a more complete understanding of the Total Solar Eclipse. This article calls attention to the surface-level views on how individuals could unite a perspective by joining religious and scientific viewpoints. Further research would benefit this article by bringing a more comprehensive understanding of the experience.

1. Introduction

Before working with the telescopes during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, I never had much interest in astronomy. I was majoring in human life science and psychology en route to obtaining a doctorate in clinical psychology. You’re probably wondering why I have written an article about the solar eclipse. I worked as a student laboratory technician at Indiana University East for the four years of my undergraduate studies. I was then asked to operate telescopes during the solar eclipse, in particular, because my job as a student laboratory technician was to assist professors in any science-related tasks. I agreed to do so because it seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness an extraordinary event at its fullest and to operate a telescope that gives me a front-row seat to a spectacular view. While operating these telescopes, I had many conversations and encountered individuals with different perspectives but with the same purpose of viewing the total solar eclipse (Figure 1). One specific encounter, along with the experience of the eclipse itself, activated a religious thought, resulting in this event being more than science-related.

2. Narrative

Growing up, I have always been interested in science. I naturally gravitated towards science classes all of my life. However, I also believe in God and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, science classes avoid God because reasoning and experiments, based solely on natural phenomena, are used within a scientific method to test a hypothesis. What is different about religion is faith. Faith is a tool that Christians use to connect their emotions, experiences, and spirituality to the world around them. Instead of relying solely on what can be objectively observed, faith allows us to analyze the whole experience in a different way, showing that there is more to the human experience than what science can evaluate.

What takes priority when examining the world? The chicken or the egg? In considering how we might view an eclipse, religion and science are different perspectives that can explore different elements. However, there is value in the joint perspective on the eclipse, which combines both scientific and religious viewpoints. The eclipse experience elicits different emotions in each individual. The unusual darkness, abrupt cold, changing winds, and other unique visual effects that occur during a total eclipse are often associated with God, which in turn are connected to the behaviors of individuals. This connection between God and behavior (and thus morality) is still prevalent today. A recent survey suggests that two-thirds of Americans say that belief in God is essential for morality. It is, therefore, not surprising that most religions viewed a total solar eclipse to be a message from God or some type of spiritual force (Bahrath, 2024) with some moral imperative and, therefore, a social impetus within the community (Durkheim, 1926). Christians and non-Christians who saw the eclipse felt a sense of similarity in thinking, a collective consciousness, that will be further discussed in this article.

Some may have a limiting point of view about uniting both perspectives on the eclipse. A scientific perspective is constructed using a scientific method. From elementary school through college, students have various forms of the scientific method taught. The steps of the scientific method include observation, question, hypothesize, experiment, and drawing a conclusion. These steps use deductive reasoning that can only eliminate false hypotheses. This limits science primarily to negativist perspectives – proving something false to eliminate an explanation – rather than identifying an ultimate truth. If we think something, we must test it through experiments and observations. Is that always the case? The religious perspective adds to the scientific perspective, which can help us identify the ultimate truth.

The Bible describes similar sightings with emotions and experiences that we feel today, but there was no scientific approach when the Bible was written. While you can adhere strictly to the scientific method through astronomical observations, you can also use other philosophical, sociological, and religious approaches to analyze it. Can these frameworks mesh with one another to form a more holistic analysis? Comparing the two perspectives may potentially be controversial or even incompatible, but bringing these analyses together can create a more comprehensive view of life and what reality has to offer. Can this solar eclipse experience be interpreted from a science and religious perspective? I believe so. Science as a negativist approach and religion and philosophy as a positivist approach can unite and find the truth rather than only what is not true.

To understand the experience, we need first to understand the environment. I was located at Indiana University East, a regional, rural campus of Indiana University (IU) in Richmond, Indiana. It was a great place to view the eclipse because it was conveniently located near the centerline of totality, accessible to the general public, and close to Interstate 70. Yet it was also a rural environment with clear views of the Sun and Moon, allowing visitors to easily view the nearly four minutes of totality. Indiana University East is a small campus, but on the day of the eclipse, it was a popular place to be. There were about 500 people on campus, most of whom were visitors. Some came alone, but most brought family, friends, and even pets to the event. While some visitors were local, most came from the states to the south and east of campus, from Florida to New York. Many chose Richmond due to the poor weather predictions for Texas or the cloudy conditions in Ohio. Some eclipse enthusiasts even came from 2 hours away to interact with the amateur astronomers and astrophotographers who chose to set up at IU East (Figure 2). A newlywed Washington, D.C. couple also decided to view the Total Solar Eclipse from IU East as a part of their honeymoon.

In addition to the telescopes brought by amateur astronomers and astrophotographers, IU East had three telescopes in the middle of campus. These were available for the general public to view sunspots, solar flares, and the ominously dark disk of the Moon as it slowly moved across the Sun’s bright surface (Figure 3). These telescopes provided high-quality views of the eclipse that, with the guidance of the student telescope operators, engaged visitors in discussions over various topics. Shortly before totality occurred, I walked between all three telescopes to see if they were aligned and focused well. All the student telescope operators were interacting with families from all over. I thought it was an upbeat and easy-going atmosphere that united families and individuals of all ages and locations. The event’s relaxed nature made complex conversations more approachable.

A specific encounter I had towards the end of the eclipse was an older gentleman who came to watch the eclipse from out of town. We became engaged in a discussion after he noticed my faith tattoo. We found that we agreed upon specific religious ideas. The discussion then led to how the solar eclipse could have more significant meaning than just its scientific description. He brought up the question, “How interesting is it that the Moon, which is so much smaller than the Sun and so far, could line up perfectly like this and add so much emotion to individuals experiencing it?” His question made me more curious to investigate the different viewpoints.

The gentleman also mentioned how emotional he got when the sky became darkened. I had a similar experience. I remember feeling a sense of awe, and I wanted to start crying. Science cannot adequately describe the emotions I felt. Although they may be able to explain the electrical impulses or chemical reactions, these are dull and very limited compared to the experience itself. I thought that for the sky to turn completely dark in the middle of the day was absurd. When we think of the day, we think of light, the Sun being out, and sometimes the Moon. But when we think of the night, we think of darkness, with the Moon being the only significant light. It affected me more than I thought to be dark in the middle of the day. It’s bewildering how such an event can have a powerful impact on one’s emotions and perspective on the universe.

I considered the science of this event, how eclipses occur through the alignment of the Moon, Sun, and Earth. First, the Moon orbits around the Earth on a different plane than the Sun, but when a total eclipse occurs, the Moon and the Sun overlap, creating complete darkness along the path of the shadow upon the Earth. The broader dynamics of the eclipse and more detailed features, such as the solar flares and sunspots, could also be analyzed. From the scientific perspective, you can go into more detail explaining how each occurs and why. For example, a sunspot is an area with parcels of gas with cooler temperatures kept afloat by magnetic fields. Why does this happen? According to H. Babcock’s theory, “the rotation of the sun is faster at the equator than [at the] poles” (Royal Museums Greenwich, n.d.). This differential rotation creates the magnetic fields that cause sunspots. However, these details of the total solar eclipse do not stir up the same emotions and spiritual impact, yet there is a need to explain those things. Science is incapable of analyzing other aspects of the solar eclipse experience that evoke unique emotions and spirituality. Personally, the Bible is the reference I turn to for spiritual assistance.

The Bible consists of many verses that reference a total solar eclipse. For example, “The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars will withdraw their shining” (Joel 3:15, King James Bible, 1611). This verse demonstrates what we observed on April 8, 2024, along with the past total solar eclipses in history. The Bible presents this event in the eyes of a higher authority, which can elicit emotions and inspire thought-provoking ideas that correspond to what I have personally experienced. Throughout history, eclipses have reinvigorated religiosity, as seen in both literature and art (Figure 4). If the verses within the Bible are consistent with life, and science gives details on the whys, can both represent the truth? Both perspectives are necessary to explore the broader truth of the experience.

The eclipse created a sense of unity. So many people from different areas of the United States came together with similar sentiments, resulting in a sense of belongingness when totality occurred. Increased unity and belonging happen when an individual’s focus shifts from themselves to those around them (Quirk, 2024). This idea supports Durkheim’s theory of mechanical solidarity. Individuals gathering with one another to focus on something much larger than themselves can bring them closer together, like the eclipse event (McConnell, 2024). The event is selfless and pro-environmental, which many today still regard as sacred, creating a sensation of high emotion that I and others felt. Emotional experiences have been documented for prior eclipses, including this eclipse, such as those detailed in Duncan & Margonelli (2024). Duncan, an astronomer, stated that the total eclipse “...looks like the end of the world” (Duncan & Margonelli, 2024). How can we add this experience to science and explain these sentiments?

Another article shares how the eclipse can influence emotions, “it is an event that does not fit with their daily understanding of the world” (Quirk, 2024). We have become accustomed to a bright day and a dark night, but when that changes abruptly, it can be mind-altering and cause us to dive into a more profound wonder of the world. Interpreting the experiences can lead many to religious responses. The temperature change and the crisp, cold air that many felt during totality could cause a sense of hopeless despair due to the perception of an inverted sky. Understanding these emotions can be further evaluated with Durkheim’s theory of collective consciousness.

Durkheim (1984) defined the collective consciousness as “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society forms a determinate system with a life of its own.” Collective consciousness explains the sentiments felt during the eclipse through social solidarity and collective interactions. The eclipse event had a life of its own, resulting in, as Durkheim explains, solidarity coming from the common purpose and from an effective division of labor. These two types of solidarity are mechanical and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is the idea that the relationships and interactions between one another create a unified community (Serpa & Ferreira, 2018). Organic solidarity is the idea that individuals unite based on shared purpose, enjoyment, and sentiments with a powerful conscious awareness of others around them (Serpa & Ferreira, 2018). The life of the community creates an internal cohesion, that is, “manners of acting, thinking, and feeling external to the individual which are invested with a coercive power by virtue of which they exercise control over him’” (Durkheim, 1938; Jones, 1993). For this event, the power in the unity of the people resulted in verbal expressions of emotion simultaneously and nearly in unison. Durkheim’s explanation of this effect ties into the religious analysis of the eclipse. Individuals who thought of it as greater than just science came together and developed a commonality in thought and emotion due to a collective consciousness.

3. Conclusion

The collective consciousness explains how individuals unite through a common purpose and experience the eclipse induced. The indescribable total solar eclipse embodied emotions that are unable to be interpreted from only a scientific perspective. Therefore, conjoining scientific perspectives with religious and collective consciousness can yield a more complete and comprehensive insight into the eclipse experience. While this article only touched upon the surface of this information, further in-depth study is necessary to bring these coinciding theories together to their fullest. The harmony between these modes of thought grasps what Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”