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

84Society and Broader Publicsfrom religion. I was surprised, however, that social scientists—those in disciplinesgenerally called the “soft sciences”—also asserted similarly strongdistinctions. A social scientist 22 in her mid thirties who teaches at a WestCoast campus talked openly—and quite disparagingly—about those in herfield who study religion (for example, sociologists of religion, such as theone who was interviewing her). In addition, before she begins discussions inclass where religion might come up, she offers students the following preface:“You don’t have to distance yourself from religion and think about itfrom an outside perspective, but you do if you want to succeed in this class.And so if you don’t want to do that, then you need to leave.” She seems tothink that if religion is too personally important to a student, then he willnot be able to examine it in the objective, scientific manner necessary forviable social science. In her experience, some religious students waste energydefending their faith that could be used in grasping social science theoriesand methods.Similarly, a biologist23said that religion must be brought up in science classroomsprecisely because, in the current climate, it is approaching so dangerouslyclose to science. He described his typical interactions with students: “I’vehad a couple of students who in talking to me after class have essentially broughtup or even confessed that they have very fundamentalist ideas . . . . I’ve talkedwith them briefly about it, but . . . I felt constrained not to be too critical.” Hethen chastised himself for not being more forthcoming about his own opinionsin these discussions. When I pressed this biologist to tell me more, he explained,“I see that this issue is not going away. If anything, it’s growing. There is agreater confusion over the meaning of science, the meaning of evidence, theability to judge things on the basis of training.” He later added, “I think thewhole society in a way is becoming ideological and [has] increasing amounts ofdemagoguery . . . . It’s more important nowadays for people in my kind of positionto take what opportunities arise to help, to help sway the balance a littlebit.” This biologist joins a small but influential group of those who think thatacademic scientists have a particular responsibility, some would say a moralresponsibility, to actively protect the authority of science from the intrusion ofreligion.“My Faith Is Simply Part of Who I Am”About 39 percent of the nearly 1,700 scientists I surveyed considered their religiousor spiritual beliefs influential on their interactions with students and colleagues.Specifically, faith can create an ethos for teaching. In other words, the