Slag,

You have said, "Except science has a lousy track record in some fields that do not lend themselves to empirical investigation and those fields are often the things most dear to people; matters of love, religion, politics, things of heart and soul."

I can't agree. Science has tested some of these fields and has not been found wanting.
Politics can be tested and examined for its validity in social engineering. Love is in the province of psychology and there are numerous scientific approaches regarding it.
There are different forms of love and psychological viewpoints toward the subject.
Things of heart and soul requires that one believes in a soul. I don't think I do.
The heart is a vital organ but when we speak of love, we speak more of the brain and its functions.

As to religion, this needs to be tested far more vigorously for your assertions to carry any weight. There has been a prohibition on the part of religionists to subject their beliefs to scientific inquiry. I think this is a lousy track record.

Frank Hamilton