Study: science vs. religion attitudes (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, July 19, 2019, 19:47 (1954 days ago) @ David Turell

A new paper which shows that in some people study of science can lead to a belief in an abstract God:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-people-engage-science-unbelief-beliefs.html

"Many Americans perceive science and religion as incompatible, but a study from the ASU Department of Psychology has found that how people engage with science can change how they think about God -- and even promote belief in God. People who associated science with logical thinking were more likely to report not believing in God or that God was unknowable. But when people were awed by science, they reported stronger belief in abstract views of God.

"The team first surveyed participants about how interested they were in science, how committed they were to logical thinking and how often they felt awe. Reporting a commitment to logic was associated with unbelief. The participants who reported both a strong commitment to logic and having experienced awe, or a feeling of overwhelming wonder that often leads to open-mindedness, were more likely to report believing in God. The most common description of God given by those participants was not what is commonly found in houses of worship: They reported believing in an abstract God described as mystical or limitless.

"'When people are awed by the complexity of life or the vastness of the universe, they were more inclined to think in more spiritual ways," Johnson said. "The feeling of awe might make people more open to other ways of conceptualizing God."

"In another experiment, the research team had the participants engage with science by watching videos. While a lecture about quantum physics led to unbelief or agnosticism, watching a music video about how atoms are both particles and waves led people to report feeling awe. Those who felt awe also were more likely to believe in an abstract God.

"'A lot of people think science and religion do not go together, but they are thinking about science in too simplistic a way and religion in too simplistic a way," said Adam Cohen, professor of psychology and senior author on the paper. "Science is big enough to accommodate religion, and religion is big enough to accommodate science.'"

Comment: Not surprising to me. I am in awe of all the science that shows many functional aspects of living organisms have to have been designed.