The weekly report on studies and demographics relating to religion and secularism
by Johnny Monsarrat
A banking executive who raced cars as a hobby once told me that sliding is the key. You’re almost never fully in control of a car as you push it to its limits on a racetrack. But just because you’re skidding doesn’t mean you don’t have traction. There’s plenty of control in the grey zone.
Perhaps there’s an analogy to be made with scientists who are religious. Do we have some traction with them?
There are more of them than you might think. Researchers at the Religion among Scientists in International Contexts (RASIC) at Rice University have published the first worldwide survey of how scientists view religion. As masters of critical thinking and the scientific method, do they personally find that to be compatible with spirituality or organized religion? In India, Italy, Taiwan, and Turkey more than half of scientists claim a religion, and few scientists in some countries believe that science and religion can co-exist (25% in Hong Kong, 27% in India, and 23% in Taiwan).
Some scientists rationalized having disparate beliefs by saying that there are many different paths to spirituality.
Also, some countries surprisingly had scientists who were more religious than the general purpose, the reverse of expectations. For example, 39% of Hong Kong scientists but only 20% of Hong Kong residents are religions, and 54% of Taiwanese scientists but only 44% of Taiwanese are religion.
The secular community tends to take a one-size-fits-all approach to reaching out to nonbelievers and secular people who may be spiritual but strongly support separation of church and state. These kinds of studies, which have also been done with religious minorities, including Muslims, help us to tailor our messages to specific markets. It also suggests the way to additional research. Of the scientists who do have a religion, do they tend to support separation of church and state? Presumably at least they support critical thinking, evidence-based decision-making, and accepting the worldwide scientific consensus as definitive rather than “just opinions”. Perhaps scientists with religion could be a connecting force helping us to find allies in religious communities.
Scientists may also make good studies in the political realities of reaching across the aisle to the other side. Really the secular movement does not need to convert anyone to atheism nor is that our goal. Our political goals are all tied up in showing respect to and ending discrimination against nonbelievers, giving critical thinking and evidence a seat at the table, and keeping church and state separate. Scientists who can hold in their minds a religious conviction but yet agree with us on some of our secular points will give us a fantastic study of what types of religious people may ally with us and what their mindset either will be when we meet them, or towards which we are trying to bring them.
A similar study in 2007 by the same team, Religion among Academic Scientists: Distinctions, Disciplines, and Demographics
What’s your opinion? In your profession, do your colleagues tend to be religious, and how does that effect their willingness to put science foremost in personal, community, corporate, and government decisions? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the SPI Facebook and Twitter pages.
Read more at phys.org.