61.1% (not a mis-type) U.S. Scientists Identify as Selves as Christian — A study commissioned by the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) and the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University presented at the AAAS meeting on 16 February reports rather surprising findings on attitudes of scientists, the public, and religion. See […]
Looking For God in All the Wrong Places
Looking for God in all the Wrong Places and Intelligent Design Might Be Wrong, But Not the Way You Think — A recent exchange on I.D. with attention to causation, Aquinas, interventionism, and occasionalism. The discussions are not reducible to simple solutions and may serve as a working example for students of tension in the […]
Belgium Parliament Passes Child Euthanasia
Belgium Parliament Passes Child Euthanasia — Parliament in Belgium has passed a bill allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children without any age limit, by 86 votes to 44, with 12 abstentions. When, as expected, the bill is signed by the king, Belgium will become the first country in the world to remove any age limit […]
1 in 4 Americans Still Geocentric
1 in 4 Americans Still Geocentric — Statistics released by the National Science Foundation indicate that to the question “Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth,” 26 percent of those surveyed answered incorrectly. In the same survey, just 39 percent answered correctly (true) that “The universe began […]
Atheism: Global Statistics
Atheism: Global Statistics — The non-believing population around the world is estimated to be roughly seven percent of the world’s population, or between 450 to 500 million people. The authors find the typical global nonbeliever is young, male, and educated, and most likely lives in northern Europe, Japan, or communist or formerly communist nations.
Law Suit to Clarify Religious Hiring
Law Suit to Clarify Religious Hiring — Churches and their schools are exempt from most laws against discriminating and employment. Now a lawsuit in Massachusetts aims to clarify how much leeway those institutions have. For example, can they discriminate against people in same-sex marriages for jobs like food services? See also the NPR 5 min […]
Rethinking the Origins Debate
Rethinking the Origins Debate — Most Americans—and most Christians—do not fall neatly into creationist or evolutionist camps. This critique of polling techniques challenges the conflict model in the science-and-religion discussion and contends that the usual surveys conflate nuanced and complex beliefs, forcing responses into convenient but inaccurate labels. The piece could be used in course […]
Lutheran Evangelicals
Lutheran Evangelicals — Calvinism is a perennial evangelical trend. Why not Lutheranism? This brief, readable article provides several ways to sort out the Lutheran “way” and why [paraphrased] “it is harder for folks simply to find Lutheranism than it is for them to find Calvinism. I don’t mean that it’s harder geographically to find a […]
