Science vs. religion : what scientists really think - File PDF

The Voice of Faith 43although he admitted that this kind of teasing is not common. He finds thatconversations about religion are hard to get started, and often his fellow scientistsare just “uncomfortable talking about it.” Jack added later in our discussionthat “probably more of them are religious than admit it.”Tobin, our economist,33is now well known on his campus for being a personof faith. But this outward focus came only after another struggle—differentfrom the one he had had earlier in his life. He talked about being a Catholicwith a few students along the way and was asked by them to give a couple oflectures on what it means to be a person of faith and an economist. As othereconomists became more aware of his faith, Tobin found their responses surprising.He explained, “I thought that people might not be respectful [of myfaith].” Instead, he experienced just the opposite reaction. His colleagues wereintrigued by how he reconciles being Catholic with the fine-tuned scientificwork he does as an economist. He does find colleagues who would prefer notto talk about matters of faith. But those who do want to talk do so from thevantage point of trying to “figure out how it is that a person that they respectand think is smart and does good work could also have that side which theydon’t have.”THE MORE COMMON, CLOSETED FAITHFew scientists are as open about their faith commitments as Tobin and Jack.The majority of religious scientists are rarely public with their colleagues abouttheir views. As Jack correctly surmised, religious scientists generally tried tokeep their faith to themselves because of the perception that other faculty intheir departments think poorly of religious people and religious ideas. Whetheror not this perception is true, it perpetuates a closeted faith and a strong cultureof suppression surrounding discussions of religion within departments.Although Jack thought there were no other Christians in his department, Ifound through my research that there were some. They were practicing a closetedfaith, but they were interested in the same kinds of issues surroundingfaith in the academy as Jack was.Social scientists talk about the differences between “strong cultures” and“weak cultures.” Strong cultures within organizations are characterized by a“system of values widely extended and intensely shared.” 34 Within a weak culture,shared values are fewer, and the ties they create among group membersare less potent. If the desired outcome of an organization, for instance, is economicin nature—to make more money—then groups with strong cultures are