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

God on the Quad 119As discussed in Chapter 2 , many scientists have a restricted code based onshorthand stereotypes of religion and religious people. 34 The sociologist35mentionedabove (the one whose religious activity consists of going to synagogueon special occasions) explained that when his faculty colleagues say negativethings about religion, they are not really outraged by religion per se so much asthey are concerned about “religious political movements that they see as theenemy.” He elaborated:People will talk about, “Oh those crazy fundamentalists are doing such andsuch,” and the threat that poses, and “are they seeping into trying to control theuniversity,” or “are they trying to control the government,” or “are they takingover the world?” So it’s not that they’re religious, it’s just that they’re seen asbeing from an enemy religious movement.Sadly, to have a conversation like the one this sociologist described be the onlyone that occurs in a science department about religion can mischaracterize allreligious people as being “crazy fundamentalists.”And scientists with faith said that such stereotypes about religious peoplesometimes make it difficult to be open on their campuses about matters offaith. True to character, however, the boundary pioneers find ways to specificallyovercome this difficulty in the broader university. In People of Faith , sociologistJohn Schmalzbauer documents the various ways that religious elites inthe social sciences and journalism (two professional arenas that scholars viewas particularly secular) maintain a distinctive religious identity and a commitmentto their profession. While acknowledging the obstacles Catholics andevangelicals face in expressing religious convictions in professional arenas,Schmalzbauer also challenges the claims of secularization theory and arguesthat even the “quintessential enlightenment professions” 36 of the media andsocial sciences are more open to religious expression than previously realized.Similarly, I talked with a chemist 37 who is a fairly outspoken Christian on hiscampus, having converted to Christianity in his mid fifties. He said he maintainshis religious identity in both subtle and overt ways. For example, he makesit comfortable for a student to talk about a religious vocation, mentioning thatsome students have come up to him and told him that they want to go to seminaryafter they finish their undergraduate work. Another student decided toleave graduate school to work with an organization that creates translations ofthe Bible for indigenous people who don’t have it in their own language. Andhe told a story of a woman with breast cancer, a colleague, who came to visithim, and they prayed together. He is involved in a religious group for facultyand staff, and his openly religious presence seems to foster more open thinking