tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post4417413406382926734..comments2023-10-10T08:02:18.073-04:00Comments on Rationally Speaking: The scientific study of religionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-66677896610404729482013-01-25T20:39:52.008-05:002013-01-25T20:39:52.008-05:00Am glad that this discussion has begun but is the ...Am glad that this discussion has begun but is the conclusion? Is there any future for the scientific stdy of religion, taking note of the the intricacies of the religious discuss? Can all religious phenomenon be verified empirically or is the appeal through the psychology of religion? Isiorhovoja U. OsbertAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05661636505688631724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-72985039260098155642010-10-30T11:27:35.960-04:002010-10-30T11:27:35.960-04:00Is she saying that religious students are in the m...<i><br />Is she saying that religious students are in the minority on college campuses? Is that true? I highly doubt it, unless you only count practicing Christians/Muslims/Jews/Hindus/etc. as religious. </i><br /><br />In my understanding, you are right. The author defined "religious students" as those students who actually attend religious services. While around 70% of the college students identify with a religion, most of them are only nominally religious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-51583308691243485122010-10-30T08:01:28.254-04:002010-10-30T08:01:28.254-04:00gil,
there are some talks on the evolution of rel...gil,<br /><br />there are some talks on the evolution of religion, but I missed one of those sessions, don't know if I'll make it to that sort of talk for the rest of the meeting.<br /><br />Metatwaddle,<br /><br />the students studied were divided into religious sub-groups, so yes, some of them were a minority (like Muslims, or Jews, or in fact even fundamentalist Christians).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099460671669064269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-3334445528790977462010-10-30T00:37:57.064-04:002010-10-30T00:37:57.064-04:00>"According to the author, the secularizat...>"According to the author, the secularization of British society during the 1960s led to a significant underestimation of religious terrorism within Iraq, which in turn contributed to the eventual collapse of the state..."<br /><br />Hmm... could be true, but it seems to be stacking a few too many vague social explanations on top of each other.<br /><br />>"...the author found a tendency (though this was a qualitative study) for atheists not to advertise themselves as such in conversations, because they thought this would be equivalent to implying that most people present - being religious - are not that bright, which in British society is a clear faux pas."<br /><br />I'm not sure why anyone would use the word "atheist" in conversation to describe themselves and their outlook anyway. It's not a full-blown philosophy, only a particular stance on a single boring proposition; one that's trivial to evaluate rationally once you have the skills.<br /><br />Also, defining oneself as such is ceding important ground to the theists. It tacitly admits that "Does god exist?" is a question we should be spending a lot of time thinking about & defining ourselves with reference to.<br /><br />And further, is atheism really something to be *that* proud of? It kinda feels like framing your high school diploma and putting it on the mantelpiece. I guess if a person really had to work at it, perhaps due to childhood indoctrination, I can understand the pride. Otherwise...ianpollockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15579140807988796286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-38457826239875836412010-10-29T23:57:17.964-04:002010-10-29T23:57:17.964-04:00The author reports more instances of discriminatio...<i>The author reports more instances of discrimination against non-religious than religious students off campus, while the reverse happens on campus. She interpreted this difference in the context of a general theory that predicts more discrimination against whatever group happens to be in a minority, regardless of what identifies the minority.</i><br /><br />Is she saying that religious students are in the minority on college campuses? Is that true? I highly doubt it, unless you only count <i>practicing</i> Christians/Muslims/Jews/Hindus/etc. as religious.Metatwaddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16798743144104017902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-24994118032176985432010-10-29T20:08:32.492-04:002010-10-29T20:08:32.492-04:00Are there any talks about the evolution of religio...Are there any talks about the evolution of religion or belief?Gilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17804109921806813813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15005476.post-68318365586037502372010-10-29T18:53:14.822-04:002010-10-29T18:53:14.822-04:00""
As for the separation between private...""<br />As for the separation between private and public sphere, the author found a tendency (though this was a qualitative study) for atheists not to advertise themselves as such in conversations, because they thought this would be equivalent to implying that most people present - being religious - are not that bright, which in British society is a clear faux pas.<br />""<br /><br />Sorry, was that the assumption that most people or religious or that religious people aren't bright. (Or both).<br /><br />But yes, it is usually correct. Until recently religion and politics (but more so religion) were considered inappropriate topics for a dinner discussion. And even if it came up a form of agnosticism was preferred.<br /><br />Frankly, this is why I found the new atheists so refreshing, you could actually engage the issues in a direct and honest manner.downquarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15154074859072874873noreply@blogger.com