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

16Crossing the Picket Lines: The Personal Faith of Scientistslarger proportion of believers than in the general population is Jewish. While alittle less than 2 percent of Americans identify as Jewish, about 16 percent ofacademic scientists do—with many of these considering themselves ethnically,rather than religiously, Jewish. For our current discussion, the most importantgap is between the two nonreligious groups. Fifty-three percent of scientistshave no religious tradition, compared to only 16 percent of Americans.In The God Delusion , Oxford University evolutionary biologist RichardDawkins argues that science proves wrong “the God hypothesis.” Dawkins’sbrand of science-based atheism is a hard sell, however, among the broaderpublic. (Many of the scientists I talked with also thought that Dawkins is doinglittle to further the cause of science among the public.) Still, about 64 percentof scientists at elite research universities either are certain that they do notbelieve in God, the classic atheist position, or they do not know whether or notthere is a God, the classic agnostic view. Natural and social scientists are similarin their thinking here. In a radical show of difference, only about 6 percent ofthe general public consider themselves either atheist or agnostic. Looked at theother way around, only 9 percent of scientists say they have no doubt that Godexists, compared to well over 60 percent of the general public. 4 The discrepancyis no secret. But what brought about this current state? 5Like the atheists and agnostics (in nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuryBritish society) chronicled by historian Susan Budd, present-day scientists havemyriad reasons for rejecting faith. 6 Scientists are not a monolithic faith group.TABLE 2.2. Scientists’ Belief in God Compared to the General PublicWhich one of the following statementscomes closest to expressing what youbelieve about God?Percent ofScientistsPercent of U.S.Population“I do not believe in God.” 34 2“I do not know if there is a God,30 4and there is no way to find out.”“I believe in a higher power,8 10but it is not God.”“I believe in God sometimes.” 5 4“I have some doubts, but I believe14 17in God.”“I have no doubts about God’s9 63existence.”Total 100 100