วันอาทิตย์ที่ 12 กุมภาพันธ์ พ.ศ. 2555

The faithful must learn to respect those who question their beliefs

tensions between religion and science will continue if believers recognize that skepticism is a characteristic of science

questions of personal faith can be a source of respectful debate and discussion. Since faith is often based not on evidence, however, is difficult to see how many deep philosophical or religious differences can be objectively established for the rest. As a result, skeptics like me, are struggling to understand or anticipate the vehement anger that can be generated by the mere suggestion that perhaps there may be no God, or even that this suggestion is not intended to offend.

Last week, police in Rhode Island, has been called to quell an angry crowd at a school board meeting, and an atheist 16 years, had to take time after school being threatened and targeted by a hate campaign online. She even described on the radio for a state representative as a "little thing wrong." All the girl had done was to press for the removal of a flag with a prayer asking: "Heavenly Father" for give students the desire to be "friendly and help our peers and teachers" and "being good sports."

Equally disturbing is an article just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, based on a study of U.S. adults and Canadian college students, suggesting that atheists are among the most distrusted society - on par with rapists. A Gallup poll earlier atheists ranked least popular presidential candidates hypothetical minority, and the group that most people disapprove of their children marry.

new study researchers concluded: "The external manifestations of belief in God can be considered an indicator of confidence ... believers can see the lack of atheist belief as a public menace. Cooperation and honesty "This probably explains the recent electoral success of presidential candidates openly pious previously demonstrated questionable ethics, explaining the lack of serious candidates, with no known religious affiliation.

is fascinating that the absence of belief, or skepticism, even simpler, among the faithful met with less respect and more distrust, even a fervent belief in God a rival. This, above all, leads to a profound and inevitable tension between science and religion. When this distrust enters the field of public policy, everyone suffers.

As a scientist, we are trained to be skeptical, which is perhaps why many scientists are struggling to blindly accept the existence of a deity. What is regrettable is that this skepticism is taken by many followers not only an attack on their beliefs, but also in their values, and thus leads to the conclusion that science is itself suspect. can be seen in many areas of public policy from the local (school boards and the teaching of evolution) on a global scale (climate change and what the codes international behavior may need to be changed to face him). But what may seem surprising is that even in the more esoteric issues, the suspicion that science is like atheism, and therefore, science can not be trusted, easy surfaces. over the past 25 years has been remarkable revolutions in our understanding of the universe at its largest scales - the revolutions that have transformed our view of the cosmos and its possible future, and can provide new light on their origins. What is truly remarkable is that the observations and theoretical developments associated with them, from particle physics to astronomy, there has been such progress that are taken to address the questions that science has shunned. In particular, we can imagine natural mechanisms more plausible by which our universe came into existence from nonexistence.

As a cosmologist, I am very aware of the inherent limitations to our study of the universe and its origins - the limitations resulting from the accidents of our birth and place in a universe whose limits can be kept out scope of our experiences.

Therefore, science should not be the direct enemy of faith. However, a deep tension will remain until the faithful recognize that the desire to challenge even the most fervent beliefs to the brand of science is a feature that should be respected, not insult



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