How dangerous are the following to the spiritual health of America?As PZ joked, we "very dangerous" atheists are slacking off if we're way down at #9 below teh gayz. Now, the comment I want to make is especially directed towards "colleges and universities" as well as "public education"...
Very Somewhat Not very The ACLU and similar groups 96 3 1 Pro-homosexual indoctrination 95 4 1 Abortion 93 6 1 Islamic terrorism 91 8 1 Hollywood 89 10 1 News Media 87 12 1 Darwinism/evolution 85 14 1 Cults and false religion 82 16 2 Atheism 82 16 2 Courts 81 18 1 Apathetic/uninformed Christians 79 20 1 Colleges and Universities 78 21 1 Public education (K-12) 69 29 2 Congress 63 35 2
While there can be no doubt that there is a certain anti-intellectual crowd within the faith community, I would by no means suggest that this is the "best" crowd. In fact, while it may or may not be a plurality, such a group would probably be the rural, uneducated religious follower rather than a smart and sophisticated believer with apologetic resources. *UPDATE: A new study is underway at BU to gauge and improve the image of Evangelical scholarship and to highlight the existence of the Evangelical intelligentsia. Groups like Kennedy's here do this study no favors.*
I've pointed out before that I think the IQ issue doesn't work when comparing believers to non-believers: I think it's bunk. So let's clearly set aside questions of intelligence and focus on the question of education (not one and the same).
First, the facts show that getting a college education does not lead to a loss of religious belief in general. At best, it may lead to a large percentage of students changing religious affiliation and/or becoming more generous with their orthodoxy.
Second, while faculty at universities tend to be far less likely to be "born again" or Evangelical-types, 4 in 5 describe themselves as "spiritual" and so it's factually false to say that most professors are materialistic atheists.
Third, it is crystal clear that the younger generation is trending towards nonreligious attitudes.
What sorts of conclusions can we draw from these facts? It seems that both educated and uneducated younger people are trending away from organized religion. However, there is still a clear aversion to self-identify as an atheist, and it doesn't seem that we can blame universities and colleges for the trend.
My interpretation is that basically, the anti-intellectual sentiment expressed by the average believer is more a reflection of attitude towards arrogance and self-reliance, perceived effects of education, than actually believing that education is evil or wrong. While majors in the sciences certainly seem to believe in God far less than other people, perhaps cause/effect should be investigated there: consider the possibility that people majoring in the sciences are skeptical by nature. Therefore, all the repeated studies (including these) which have shown that fewer than 50% of scientists believe in God, that more than 60% are atheists and agnostics, that belief in God among "elite scientists" (NAS Members) is a mere 7%, and that 95% of NAS biologists are either atheists or agnostics, can't be blamed on science itself (c.f., SciAm 1999, Nature 1997).
Ask yourself this: why is it that people who have to think logically to survive in their careers, to depend upon evidence and critical inquiry, are much more likely to reject the God hypothesis? Pride? You can see it that way, I suppose, if you want. But doesn't that imply that science itself is prideful, in saying that we ought to use our brains and the best evidence available to establish knowledge and valid beliefs? If that's pride, call me the devil, I guess...
I think that people who are drawn to science are people who are analytically-oriented and skeptically-minded by nature. We're the types who want evidence and logical arguments to persuade us. Perhaps we can simply be viewed with equity by those unlike us, and learn to view them likewise, rather than elevating ourselves unduly because of our genetically or environmentally-determined natures, which we cannot ourselves claim credit for. And perhaps others (believers) can stop denigrating us unduly for the same reason; skeptics may be hardwired for skepticism.
