Comments on: Religion reduces science literacy in America

By: theunmanspeaks

theunmanspeaks — Sat, 25 May 2013 20:56:01 +0000

The matter of causality appears somewhat carelessly — worse, tendentiously — treated here. To “explain” some fraction of an effect statistically by a given factor is not necessarily to assign a causal role to that factor. E.g., “To put these figures in perspective, race accounts for 9% of the variation in science literacy, . . .” But nobody here is attributing a _causal_ role to “race” in science literacy, are they? Yet _religion’s_ causal influence on science literacy seems in this discussion to have been simply equated with its statistical “explanatory” power. That’s sloppy.

Which is not to say that religion has no causal role in resistance to science — but that its role, if any, cannot be simplistically equated with its statistical “explanatory” power.

By: Religion reduces science literacy in America | Republic Affair

Religion reduces science literacy in America | Republic Affair — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 12:26:34 +0000

[...] Religion reduces science literacy in America It’s palpably obvious that acceptance of evolution is impeded by religion. The data are many, including surveys of different denominations, a strong negative correlation among countries between their degree of religiosity and their inhabitants’ acceptance of evolution, the statements of religious people themselves to the effect that evolution threatens their view of scripture, morality, or self-worth, and the fact that creationism throughout the world is always connected with religion. And then there’s this, from an analysis by David Masci at the Pew Forum in 2007: [...]

By: Are Fine Gael worried now about the "catholic" vote in the forthcoming referendum? - Page 10

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:34:07 +0000

[...] it has a lot to do with it. Here is one study showing the inverse relationship between the two and an article discussing the results… only education is a stronger predictor of scientific literacy than [...]

By: dokmaidogma

dokmaidogma — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:33:09 +0000

Excerpt from Dokmai Dogma Nov. 17, 2010:
To me, being a pantheist, the different religions are different cultural expressions of the same basic wonder. A problem is that many religious people are obsessed about their imperfect gurus, their words, imaginations, rituals, buildings and books, forgetting the actual creation. If you hold a religious text in your hand, you hold a text full of errors, simplifications and obsolete misunderstandings, because it was written by men, men who only shared a fraction of our knowledge. If you hold a leaf in your hand there are no lunatic middlemen or charlatans between you and the creative force. Muhammad realized people tend to forget the creation after observing the worship of the many Christian saints (similar to Buddhist or Norse spirit worship). To make sure people did not deviate from adoring the creative force and the actual creation, he banned illustrations to which people tend to cling to like teddy bears. The shahada of the Quran is ‘There is no God but Allah’, but ironically, in spite of Muhammad’s efforts to make sure people would admire the creator only, later muslims added ‘..and Muhammad is his messenger’ opening up to the worship of a series of documents written long after Muhammad’s death. Muhammad would probably cry of despair if he learnt that some modern students in medicine spend more time reading the man-made religious texts rather than studying the actual creation of Allah (science).

The scientists are the prophets of our time. They continuously revise and expand our view of the creation way beyond the horizon of the old prophets, even explaining the beautiful mechanisms such as the divine evolution of species. Each scientist’s contribution is puny, but the combined knowledge so vast no man can grasp it in a lifetime. This fact shows the magnitude of the creation far better than a single religious text. Planting a tree is a sacred act, clearing a forest to build a temple is not.

Eric Danell

By: Rick Perry: Prayer Warrior Fights Satanic Science! « Republican Faith Chat

Rick Perry: Prayer Warrior Fights Satanic Science! « Republican Faith Chat — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:20:13 +0000

[...] also goes on to say that religion tends to reduce “science literacy” by showing a correlation between religiosity and ignorance of science facts rejection of false [...]

By: Bernard Hurley

Bernard Hurley — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:11:34 +0000

So that’s where Thor’s anvil went. He won’t be too pleased at your God busting his hammers!

By: Microraptor

Microraptor — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:59:53 +0000

Laugh all you want, you’re not fooling anyone but yourself.

By: ruthieo

ruthieo — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:35:44 +0000

“Hammer away ye rebel bands. Your hammers break: God’s Anvil stands. Last eve I paused beside the blacksmith’s door And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime: Then looking in, I saw upon the floor Old hammers worn with beating years of time. “How many anvils have you had?” said I, “to wear and batter all these hammers so?” “Just one,” said he, and then with twinkling eye, “The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”
And so, I thought, the Anvil of God’s Word for ages skeptic blows have beat upon, Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard, The Anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.”
John Clifford

By: Yeah sure

Yeah sure — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:01:54 +0000

Coming from a sectarian Christian, Bible-believing background, I think the issue is that there is a fear that if one learns too much science, one will cease believing the things that are necessary for eternal salvation. Therefore, people in this demographic tend to pursue other, less “dangerous,” fields and shy away from learning about science.

By: Fun: Science and Groaners… « blueollie

Fun: Science and Groaners… « blueollie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:22:12 +0000

[...] Coyne and say that such rejection comes almost exclusively from religion. True, data shows that there is a strong correlation between scientific illiteracy and religious belief, but I wonder if this is mere correlation rather than causation. Here is what I mean: I take the [...]