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spin

(17,493 posts)
27. The data on scientists closely matches members of Mensa. ...
Mon Aug 12, 2013, 06:46 PM
Aug 2013
NOVEMBER 5, 2009
Scientists and Belief


****snip***

A survey of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in May and June 2009, finds that members of this group are, on the whole, much less religious than the general public.1 Indeed, the survey shows that scientists are roughly half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher power. According to the poll, just over half of scientists (51%) believe in some form of deity or higher power; specifically, 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. By contrast, 95% of Americans believe in some form of deity or higher power, according to a survey of the general public conducted by the Pew Research Center in July 2006. Specifically, more than eight-in-ten Americans (83%) say they believe in God and 12% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. Finally, the poll of scientists finds that four-in-ten scientists (41%) say they do not believe in God or a higher power, while the poll of the public finds that only 4% of Americans share this view.
http://www.pewforum.org/2009/11/05/scientists-and-belief/


But I was surprised to read this article:

Science and Religion Do Mix? Only 15 Percent of Scientists at Major Research Universities See Religion and Science Always in Conflict

Sep. 23, 2011 — Throughout history, science and religion have appeared as being in perpetual conflict, but a new study by Rice University suggests that only a minority of scientists at major research universities see religion and science as requiring distinct boundaries.

"When it comes to questions about the meaning of life, ways of understanding reality, origins of Earth and how life developed on it, many have seen religion and science as being at odds and even in irreconcilable conflict," said Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund. But a majority of scientists interviewed by Ecklund and colleagues viewed both religion and science as "valid avenues of knowledge" that can bring broader understanding to important questions, she said.

***snip***

They interviewed a scientifically selected sample of 275 participants, pulled from a survey of 2,198 tenured and tenure-track faculty in the natural and social sciences at 21 elite U.S. research universities. Only 15 percent of those surveyed view religion and science as always in conflict. Another 15 percent say the two are never in conflict, and 70 percent believe religion and science are only sometimes in conflict. Approximately half of the original survey population expressed some form of religious identity, whereas the other half did not.

***snip***

Other findings:
*Scientists as a whole are substantially different from the American public in how they view teaching "intelligent design" in public schools. Nearly all of the scientists -- religious and nonreligious alike -- have a negative impression of the theory of intelligent design.
*Sixty-eight percent of scientists surveyed consider themselves spiritual to some degree.
*Scientists who view themselves as spiritual/religious are less likely to see religion and science in conflict.
*Overall, under some circumstances even the most religious of scientists were described in very positive terms by their nonreligious peers; this suggests that the integration of religion and science is not so distasteful to all scientists.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115923.htm


However the famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, has written a book "The Grand Design, which supposedly explains the universe without God." (ref: http://creation.com/stephen-hawking-god)
I'm having trouble opening the article, but I would question the validity of any cbayer Aug 2013 #1
There ought to be as many dots above 100 as below. lumberjack_jeff Aug 2013 #2
Correct. That is the point that I was trying to make as well. cbayer Aug 2013 #6
I guess the rest of the world is the opposite of Lake Woebegone; no one is above average. n/t lumberjack_jeff Aug 2013 #8
Let me take a whack at why that's not so. dimbear Aug 2013 #26
It appears that only about 13 out of 137 countries are of average or above intelligence ... Jim__ Aug 2013 #3
And from what I did see, the bulk of those studied (87%) were from western countries. cbayer Aug 2013 #7
Yea, Wilson and Sociobiolgy gave IQ scores a bad reputation. rug Aug 2013 #11
The graph is just one of the 63 studies muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #13
My read was that although they found a higher number of studies with cbayer Aug 2013 #16
I'm not sure what you mean by 'substantiating' correlation muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #17
Because other studies had claimed to have made a correlation, cbayer Aug 2013 #18
A meta study is defiend as 'looking at other studies and not doing their own' muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #19
I am very familiar with what a meta study is, muriel. cbayer Aug 2013 #22
No, the graph posted in the OP does not tell the tale at all muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #23
You are correct about the title. cbayer Aug 2013 #24
I presume you're talking about American atheists muriel_volestrangler Aug 2013 #25
There is also a correlation between being part of a privilege class and cbayer Aug 2013 #28
"More than 87 percent of the participants were from the US, the UK, and Canada." Jim__ Aug 2013 #4
Mensa members are supposed to be very intelligent so I decided to see how many are religious. ... spin Aug 2013 #5
I don't find this surprising at all. cbayer Aug 2013 #9
In high school I had a close friend who was a member of Mensa. ... spin Aug 2013 #10
Don't get me wrong, I like super intelligent people. cbayer Aug 2013 #14
Unfortunately, being in that top 2% okasha Aug 2013 #20
The Mensa data you quote tells us they are far more nonreligious than the average in America, dimbear Aug 2013 #21
The data on scientists closely matches members of Mensa. ... spin Aug 2013 #27
no data for people above 110 IQ? eShirl Aug 2013 #12
I think those are averages within specific countries. cbayer Aug 2013 #15
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