Secularity and Science

Author(s):  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
David R. Johnson ◽  
Brandon Vaidyanathan ◽  
Kirstin R.W. Matthews ◽  
Steven W. Lewis ◽  
...  

In order to take an in-depth look at the relationship between science and religion around the world, the authors of this book completed the most comprehensive international study of scientists’ attitudes toward religion ever undertaken, surveying more than twenty thousand scientists and conducting in-depth interviews with over six hundred of them. From this wealth of data, the authors extract the real story of the relationship between science and religion in the lives of scientists around the world. Secularity and Science makes four big claims: There are more religious scientists than we might think. Religion and science sometimes overlap in scientific work. Scientists—even some atheist scientists—see spirituality in science. And finally, the idea that religion and science must conflict is an invention of the West. Throughout the chapters, the book couples nationally representative survey data with captivating stories of individual scientists, whose experiences highlight these important themes in the data. Secularity and Science leaves inaccurate assumptions about science and religion behind, and offers a new, more nuanced understanding of how science and religion interact and how they can be integrated for the common good.

Author(s):  
AA. Ngurah Anom Kumbara ◽  
AA. Sagung Kartika Dewi

Modernization and globalization have spread the ideology of capitalism and materialistic rationalism throughout the world. It has created transformation not only in the socio-cultural and economic aspects, but also in religion practice. One of the Hindu’s practice phenomenon that prevails nowadays in Denpasar is a certain dynastic lawsuit against shiva-sisya relationship (patron-client), which became a tradition in Hindu’s practice in Bali.The purpose of this study is to understand and explain the background of the shifting in shiva-sisya (patron client) relationship and the implications of this shift within Hindu’s practice or religiosity in Denpasar city. To answer the purpose of this study cultural studies approach was used with qualitative analysis. Techniques for collecting data were through in-depth interviews, observations and analysis of the related documents. This study used theories: Patron-Client by James Scott, Structuration by Giddens and Modernization/social change of Marx. Based on the analysis of the collected data, this study has found that the underlying shift in the relationship of shiva-sisya (patron-client) within Hindu’s practice in Denpasar city was the appearance of the religious power decentralization, the strengthening of the market ideology within Hindu’s practice and structured social relations. The implications of that shift, which happen to be the religion privacy and the emergence of Hindu’s internal friction in religious practice in Denpasar city.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk G. Van der Merwe

Throughout its history, Christianity has stood in a dichotomous relation to the various philosophical movements or eras (pre-modernism, modernism, postmodernism and post-postmodernism) that took on different faces throughout history. In each period, it was the sciences that influenced, to a great extent, the interpretation and understanding of the Bible. Christianity, however, was not immune to influences, specifically those of the Western world. This essay reflects briefly on this dichotomy and the influence of Bultmann’s demythologising of the kerygma during the 20th century. Also, the remythologising (Vanhoozer) of the church’s message as proposed for the 21st century no more satisfies the critical Christian thinkers. The relationship between science and religion is revisited, albeit from a different perspective as established over the past two decades as to how the sciences have been pointed out more and more to complement theology. This article endeavours to evoke the church to consider the fundamental contributions of the sciences and how it is going to incorporate the sciences into its theological training and message to the world.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062092323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon McPhetres ◽  
Jonathan Jong ◽  
Miron Zuckerman

It is commonly claimed that science and religion are logically and psychologically at odds with one another. However, previous studies have mainly examined American samples; therefore, generalizations about antagonism between religion and science may be unwarranted. We examined the correlation between religiosity and attitudes toward science across 11 studies including representative data from 60 countries ( N = 66,438), nine convenience samples from the United States ( N = 2,160), and a cross-national panel sample from five understudied countries ( N = 1,048). Results show that, within the United States, religiosity is consistently associated with lower interest in science topics and activities and less positive explicit and implicit attitudes toward science. However, this relationship is inconsistent around the world, with positive, negative, and null correlations being observed in various countries. Our findings are inconsistent with the idea that science and religion are necessarily at odds, undermining common theories of scientific advancement undermining religion.


Author(s):  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
Christopher P. Scheitle

The loudest and most extreme voices get the attention in discussions about religion and science. These voices often feed into stereotypes about how religious people view and relate to science. The authors urge readers to let go of any current assumptions and stereotypes regarding science, religion, scientists, and religious people. Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think uses the latest and broadest survey data alongside in-depth interviews with a variety of religious people in order to move beyond these stereotypes while also recognizing real areas of tension between science and religious people. These areas of tension originate from religious individuals’ desire to maintain a role for God in the world and preserve the sacredness of humanity. This chapter outlines each of the following seven chapters.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon McPhetres ◽  
Jonathan Jong ◽  
Miron Zuckerman

It is commonly claimed that science and religion are logically and psychologically at odds with one another. However, previous studies have mainly examined American samples: therefore, generalisations about antagonism between religion and science may be unwarranted. We examined the correlation between religiosity and attitudes towards science across 11 studies, including representative data from 60 countries (N = 66,438), nine convenience samples from the U.S. (N = 2,160), and a cross-national panel sample from five understudied countries (N = 1,048). Results show that, within the U.S., religiosity is consistently associated with lower interest in science topics and activities, and less positive explicit and implicit attitudes towards science. However, this relationship is inconsistent around the world, with positive, negative, and null correlations being observed in various countries. Our findings are inconsistent with the idea that science and religion are necessarily at odds, undermining common theories of scientific advancement undermining religion.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Johnson ◽  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
Di Di ◽  
Kirstin R.W. Matthews

Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews conducted with biologists and physicists at universities in the United Kingdom, this study examines scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in socially contentious public debates. We examine Richard Dawkins’ involvement in public debates related to the relationship between science and religion as a case to analyze scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in the public sphere and the implications of celebrity science for the practice of science communication. Findings show that Dawkins’ proponents view the celebrity scientist as a provocateur who asserts the cultural authority of science in the public sphere. Critics, who include both religious and nonreligious scientists, argue that Dawkins misrepresents science and scientists and reject his approach to public engagement. Scientists emphasize promotion of science over the scientist, diplomacy over derision, and dialogue over ideological extremism.


Author(s):  
Yiftach Fehige

Thought experiments are basically imagined scenarios with a significant experimental character. Some of them justify claims about the world outside of the imagination. Originally they were a topic of scholarly interest exclusively in philosophy of science. Indeed, a closer look at the history of science strongly suggests that sometimes thought experiments have more than merely entertainment, heuristic, or pedagogic value. But thought experiments matter not only in science. The scope of scholarly interest has widened over the years, and today we know that thought experiments play an important role in many areas other than science, such as philosophy, history, and mathematics. Thought experiments are also linked to religion in a number of ways. Highlighted in this article are those links that pertain to the core of religions (first link), the relationship between science and religion in historical and systematic respects (second link), the way theology is conducted (third link), and the relationship between literature and religion (fourth link).


2019 ◽  
pp. 102831531988739
Author(s):  
Miri Yemini

This study combines two rapidly growing bodies of literature; one addresses the reasons behind the success of highly productive academics and the second investigates collaborations (international coauthorships in particular). The growing literatures on these two topics mainly involve quantitative bibliometric explanatory studies, denoting the demographic, institutional, and national factors as influential parameters that shape these trends. In this study, in contrast, I employ the notion of agency to analyze 20 in-depth interviews with top-producing academics from Denmark, Israel, and Australia in the fields of education and nanoscience, seeking to better understand the motivations, nature, perceived benefits, and drawbacks of such collaborations. I argue that these highly productive scholars involve themselves in international collaborations for a variety of reasons, but mainly due to the potential of such collaborations to advance their research. However, while scholars in nanoscience align with the disciplinary norms of collaborations and see such partnerships as a mundane part of their scientific work, scholars in education (where international collaborations are less common) perceive these activities as agentic, whereby participants often counteract social norms to pursue joint research. In the context of increasing pressures for accountability, commercialization, and internationalization of and in higher education, this study suggests a nuanced understanding of international research collaborations practiced by highly productive scholars.


2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Coletto

This article explores three research fields in contemporary Christian scholarship and argues that the way they are approached is often questionable due to the basic assumptions, the methods or the implications. The following allegations are proposed. Research on the relationship between religion and science is based on a framework of assumptions which does not reflect the biblical standpoint properly. Trinitarian scholarship expects too much from the presumed correspondence between Trinity and created reality, whilst it tends to neglect other resources available to Christian scholarship. Scientific reflection on God’s eternity is speculative in as much as it tries to transcend the modal horizon of knowledge. In these three cases (other cases are also briefly mentioned) it is argued that ‘Kuyper’s razor’ (an approach promoted in the Kuyperian reformational tradition) would help rethinking research in these areas.Kuyper se skalpel? ’n Heroorweging van wetenskap-en-religie, trinitariese navorsing en God se ewigheid. Hierdie artikel verken drie navorsingsterreine in die kontemporêre Christelike wetenskap en voer aan dat die manier waarop hulle benader word dikwels bedenklik is weens basiese aannames, die metodes of die implikasies daarvan. Die volgende kritiek word voorgestel. Navorsing oor die verhouding tussen religie en wetenskap is op ’n raamwerk van aannames gebaseer wat nie ’n behoorlike weerspieëling van die skriftuurlike standpunt is nie. Trinitariese navorsing verwag te veel van die veronderstelde ooreenkoms tussen die Drie-eenheid en die geskape werklikheid, terwyl dit neig om ander hulpbronne wat vir die Christelike wetenskap beskikbaar is, te verwaarloos. Wetenskaplike besinning oor God se ewigheid is spekulatief vir sover dit poog om die modale horison van kennis te transendeer. Dit word aangevoer dat ‘Kuyper se skalpel’ (’n benadering wat in die Kuyperiaans-reformatoriese tradisie bevorder word) sal help om navorsing in hierdie drie gevalle (ander gevalle word ook kortliks genoem) te heroorweeg.


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