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

The Voice of Science 23band’s most popular songs, “American Jesus,” describes in detail the problemsthat the band feels fundamentalist Christianity brings to the United States:We’ve got the American JesusHe helped build the President’s estate . . .He’s the farmer’s barren fieldsThe force the army wields 25These lyrics show that intellect, emotion, and politics are often closely intertwinedwhen it comes to discussions about religion and science.Often scientists I interviewed cited the ills they have seen perpetuated at thehand of religious leaders as the primary reason for their lack of belief. Thesescientists would tell me about evils done in the name of faith, broader societalproblems they saw resulting particularly from fundamentalist and evangelicalreligions, and, in Evelyn’s case, their own negative personal experiences withthe traditions of their past. Evelyn remembers being taken to church with herfamily on one occasion; the preacher talked with her after the sermon and toldher that she would probably have more friends if she would lose some weight.A physicist 26 I spoke with was raised in a Protestant tradition and, likeEvelyn, did not have good experiences with religion as a child. He was part of atradition “where you go to church every Sunday, you go out and proselytizeand try to save souls, . . . you accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.”The people in his family’s church were often afraid of any challenges to theirfaith and provided no forum for asking difficult questions. Worse, their personalethics seemed inconsistent with living life as Christ lived it. Although heonce gave faith a chance, in his words, “I don’t really have any associationmyself that there’s anything positive about religion, and I certainly think thatthere are a lot of negatives.” This physicist says that rather than follow a religionhe lives simply by the golden rule and tries to treat others as he would liketo be treated himself.His sense that he does not need the particular doctrines of a religion to liveas an ethical person is typical of the way many Americans see Christianity,according to sociologist Nancy Ammerman. Ammerman finds that individualswho practice what she calls “golden rule Christianity,” unlike the physicistabove who was raised a Protestant, might actually go to church but attend lessoften than others. What they take from their religious tradition is a sense thatone should pay more attention to “right living rather than right believing”—caring humanely for others rather than holding to a particular doctrine. 27 Thosescientists who eschewed the organized religion of their childhood oftenremained committed to the codes of ethics learned from their traditions.