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Somewhat tangential thoughts... Being a devout Christian does seem quite dangerous career-wise today. I was going to conclude that being a devout Christian in
by etse 12y ago
Somewhat tangential thoughts...
Being a devout Christian does seem quite dangerous career-wise today. I was going to conclude that being a devout Christian in the sciences today seems to "not really be much of a personal choice", but actually I think there is some room for it. There seems to be little freedom to avoid being a closet Christian if you are in biology and would like to not have to guess if you would have colleagues who support your work. On the other hand, astronomers and physicists seem to be friendlier to the devout Christians in their respective fields.
- mikeash 12y agoAre they unfriendly towards devout Christians, or are they unfriendly towards loud, proselytizing Christians who constantly try to tie their religion into everything they do? Maybe I'm wrong, but I strongly doubt that regular churchgoers who don't shove it in other people's faces have any trouble. Some Christians love to whine about oppression but it's almost always a case of "I want to shove this in everybody's face, and I demand that they sit there and take it."
- justin66 12y ago> Being a devout Christian does seem quite dangerous career-wise today. When does it even come up?
- m_mueller 12y agoI think this depends on what you mean by 'devout'. If you mean it in the mostly American Evangelical sense, then yes, it might severely hamper your scientific career since you will be less open minded about your topics of study. If you look at modern Catholics and many European Evangelics, this is not really the case. Interpreting the bible as a moral guide rather than a presentation of facts makes a big difference. If this weren't the case, you wouldn't see so many physicists and mathematicians to be religious.