Student Question
How did Greek study of science affect their relationship with their religion and gods?
Quick answer:
The Greek study of science, although not formalized like modern science, significantly affected their relationship with religion by challenging traditional beliefs. While Greek mythology initially explained natural phenomena, philosophers like Thales, Pythagoras, and Aristotle began seeking rational explanations, leading to the separation of science and religion by 300 BCE. Intellectuals largely rejected theistic religions, favoring reason-based thought, while religious mythology became more associated with literature and theater.
I'm not sure it's quite accurate to say that the Greeks studied "science",
since they were far from formalizing the Scientific Method as we know it today.
But they did make many significant advances in philosophy and mathematics,
which laid a foundation for later developments in science.
In any case, it's quite clear that the intellectuals of classical Greece did
not believe in religion. They were atheists; in fact, the word "atheist" is
originally from the Greek atheos. There were many different schools of
thought among the Greeks: Stoicism, Platonism, Pythagoreanism, Sophism, and
more. They disagreed on just about everything---but were remarkably uniform in
their rejection of all theistic religions. Only a handful of Greek philosophers
ever wrote anything suggesting that they believed in literal gods such as Zeus
or Apollo.
One particular Greek philosopher who wrote a great deal about religion (all of it negative) was Epicurus; he wrote...
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the first recorded use of the Problem of Evil. Note that he was writing in the 4th century BC, centuries before Jesus was even born.
Most of the population of Greece was illiterate, however, and knew very little
about the intellectual traditions that were forming among their elite. It is
quite likely that most of the population continued to believe in the classic
Greek pantheon (Zeus, Hera, Apollo, etc.) even as the intellectuals rejected
it.
References
How did studying science change the Greeks' relationship with their religion and gods?
In Ancient Greece, Greek mythology had initially served as the “scientific” explanation for natural phenomena. Earthquakes, for example, were believed to have been caused by Poseidon, the god of the sea, striking his trident into the ground. Thus, Poseidon and all the other gods of Olympus were not only religious figures; they were also a source of scientific insight.
Science, however, truly began in Ancient Greece when Greek philosophers looked for answers outside of religious mythology. The first of these philosophers was Thales, who surmised that water was the fundamental block through which the universe originated. This was controversial, as the Greeks had previously believed in the spontaneous emergence of Gaia, Tartaros, and Eros.
As science rose within Greek culture, the truth and validity of religious mythology was challenged more and more. Pythagoras, inspired by Thales, founded most of the modern world’s basic geometrical and mathematical concepts. Famous figures such as Aristotle, Archimedes, Socrates, and Plato contributed to the earliest findings on biology, zoology, physics, metaphysics, logic, and etc. They were harsh critics of mysticism and religious mythology, and they called for reason-based thought.
By 300 BCE, religious mythology and natural philosophy were thoroughly separated. Religious mythology was no longer drawn on for scientific explanations and was relegated to literature and theatre. Natural philosophy flourished and led Greece through its highly powerful Hellenistic period.