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

Spiritual Entrepreneurs 61we ask.” He described himself as a “nonbeliever” with respect to God and saidthat his religious/spiritual beliefs are very “informal” and relate to things suchas the “subtle connectedness between people [and] valuing quieter momentsand reflection.” For this scientist, research questions do not always naturallyproceed from one to another. He, therefore, rejects what he calls “scientism,”which proposes that all science is completely objective. For instance, he explainsthat in “the hypothesis-generation phase, there may be multiple personal, spiritual,familial, cultural roots . . . which we have to openly acknowledge.” Noticetoo that this psychologist has a very different view of science than do many ofhis colleagues; he accepts that scientific questions are sometimes informed orinfluenced by sources outside science itself. He does believe, however, that oneshould at least strive to be objective in the hypothesis-testing phase. Being spiritualin some sense distinguishes him from colleagues who see science as thesupreme form of knowledge, impervious to influence by forces outside thescientific method.Deriving spirituality from nature is another way spiritual entrepreneurs seetheir unique form of coherent spirituality flowing from what they know of science.In one sense, this way of seeing spirituality connects them to members ofthe general public who also see spirituality as related to a sense of awe or transcendencein relation to the natural world. For example, according to one surveyof American spirituality, a common aspect of daily spiritual values is, “I amtouched by the beauty of creation.” 29 The relationship of spirituality withnature for those in the general population, however, is often correlated with atleast a vague sense of the transcendent and more often with a particular notionof God, often the sense of God as Creator. For the spiritual atheists, it wasconnected to a deeper sense of appreciating the natural world.An assistant professor of political science 30 in his late thirties linked his viewof spirituality to nature but at the same time also tried to distance himself froma belief in God:I have spiritual commitments . . . . It’s kind of a view like [the philosopher]Spinoza, without God, in the sense that I like being outdoors and I think there’ssome sort of meaning and beauty and value to everything around me and whatI do. And so there’s a way in which I feel very spiritual.Others, when asked how their spiritual beliefs or practices connected to a beliefin God, more adamantly distanced themselves from belief in a personal God. Abiologist31said, “I guess religion implies that one believes in some kind ofGod . . . . I always assume that people who have spirituality believe in God andthey think of it that way.” Like Irving, the self-described Darwinist social