Is it true that most scientists are atheist, that Christianity inimical to science, and that science turns believers into unbelievers? In this lecture, we discuss what scientists really believe, based on several surveys of U.S. scientists.

1. WHAT
SCIENTISTS
REALLY
BELIEVE
DR. SARAH
SALVIANDER
RTB Austin
12.08.18

2. THE CLAIMS
Most scientists are atheists
93% of scientists are atheist
Christian beliefs are inimical to science
You can’t be a scientist if you’re Christian

3. Christians are stupid / anti-science
Christianity is anti-truth
Christians who do go into science lose
their faith
Those who don’t lose faith are
“schizophrenic” about science and belief
THE IMPLICATIONS

4. As a scientist, I am hostile to
fundamentalist religion* because
it actively debauches the scientific
enterprise. It teaches us not to
change our minds, and not to want
to know exciting things that are
available to be known. It subverts
science and saps the intellect.
Richard Dawkins, biologist
*Religion that takes scripture seriously

5. The evolutionary future of
religion is extinction … Belief in
supernatural powers is doomed to
die out, all over the world, as the
result of the increasing adequacy
of scientific knowledge.
Anthony F.C. Wallace, anthropologist

6. “[A scientist] cannot believe in things
that are supernatural, because that’s a
total cop-out. That’s really antiscience.
The whole purpose of doing science is to
figure out how nature works. And as soon
as you… say, ‘Ah-ha, I’m going to push the
supernatural button,’ then you’re just
abdicating yourself as a scientist.”
—Chemist interviewed by sociologist Elaine Ecklund

7. “For some… believing in God actually
puts research at incredible risk. That is
why, for the sake of the profession, they
think other scientists should give up
religion.”
—Elaine Ecklund, Science vs. Religion: What
Scientists Really Think

12. IS IT TRUE THAT…
Most scientists are atheists?
93% of scientists are atheist?
Christian beliefs are inimical to science?
You can’t be a scientist if you’re Christian?

13. If you want to assert a
truth, first make sure
it's not just an opinion
that you desperately
want to be true.
Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist

14. 1. Modern science began as a Christian effort to
• Test all things (2 Thessalonians 21:5)
• Know God (Romans 1:20)
• Glorify God (Psalm 19:1)
Most scientists pre-19th century were Christian,
including Kepler, Newton, Pascal, Galileo, Leibniz,
Boyle, Lavoisier
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW

15. Fifty out of 52 (96%) of the key architects of the
scientific revolution were Christian, mostly devout
This is why, for the three centuries between Copernicus
and Darwin, there was no conflict between science
and religion
See my lecture “The Christian Foundation of Modern
Science”
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW

16. 2. Atheists sought to drive a wedge between science
and religion, not Christians
• Thomas Huxley
• John William Draper
• Andrew Dickson White
3. 19th-20th century: atheists tried to drive Christians
out of the intellectual realm
4. A substantial number of Christians remain in science
WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW

17. Erosion of Christian influence in science and public life
becomes evident in the early 20th century
James Leuba’s 1914 survey of U.S. scientists
• 42% believed in a personal God
• 42% didn’t believe in a personal God
Contra Anthony Wallace’s claim, this hasn’t changed
much
20th CENTURY ONWARD

18. Edward Larson’s 1996 survey of U.S. scientists
• 40% believe in God
• 45% don’t believe in God
20th CENTURY ONWARD

19. Pew Research Center’s 2009 survey
33% believe in God
18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power
41% don’t believe in either
7% don’t know
51% believe in something
41% are atheist
20th CENTURY ONWARD

20. Compared with a 2006 survey of the American public:
83% believe in God
12% believe in a universal spirit or higher power
4% don’t believe in either
1% don’t know
95% believe in something
4% are atheist
20th CENTURY ONWARD

21. Compared with the American public, scientists are:
• less likely to be believers
• less likely to identify as evangelical
• more likely to be spiritual but not religious
• more likely to be Jewish
• more likely to be agnostic or atheist
But there has never been a time in the U.S. when
most scientists have been atheist
20th CENTURY ONWARD

22. Larson & Witham 1998 survey of “greater scientists”
1914 1933 1998
Belief in God 27.7 15 7.0
Disbelief in God 52.7 68 72.2
Doubt / agnosticism 20.9 17 20.8
72% of National Academy scientists are atheist
Most scientists are not
20th CENTURY ONWARD
Source of
93% myth

23. New trend:
Younger scientists are
increasingly more
likely to be religious
avg. age of NAS
scientists

24. God is the creator and
sustainer of the universe
and of humankind,
transcending the universe
but immanent in it.
Physicist, George F.R. Ellis, who co-authored
a book on GR with Stephen Hawking

25. The significance and joy in my science
comes in those occasional moments of
discovering something new and
saying to myself, 'So that’s how God
did it.' My goal is to understand a
little corner of God's plan.
Quantum chemist, Henry F. Schaefer III, one
of the most highly-cited scientists in the world

26. The best data we have
[concerning the big bang] are
exactly what I would have
predicted, had I nothing to go on
but the five books of Moses, the
Psalms, the Bible as a whole.
Physicist, Arno Penzias, who won the Nobel
prize for co-discovering the CMB

27. Physicist, Paul Davies: We’re experiencing a return to
serious dialogue between science and religion
Sociologist, Rodney Stark: “This renewed relationship is a
return to ‘normal’…”
Rise in science-based apologetics:
Reasons to Believe
Reasonable Faith
BioLogos
6DS
A RETURN TO NORMAL

28. Are they ”debauching the scientific enterprise”?
Are they “schizophrenic” about science and their beliefs?
BELIEVING SCIENTISTS

29. Do not consider their traditions to influence their work
0% believe in intelligent design as a scientific theory
94% believe in evolution
Most see their traditions as influential on their work
relationships and on the kinds of projects they work on
Source: Elaine Ecklund, Science vs. Religion
BELIEVING SCIENTISTS

30. Stark: vast majority of “warfare” propaganda comes from
non-scientists and social scientists
Gets repeated, thoughtlessly, ad nauseam
Especially on social media, campuses
WHERE ARE THE MYTHS COMING FROM?

31. Christians
Atheists

32. CHRISTIANS & ATHEISTS SPEAK DIFFERENT
LANGUAGES
CHRISTIANS
“Faith” is…
• Trusting with good reason
• Assurance of things hoped
for, of things unseen
• Complete trust
ATHEISTS
“Faith” is…
• Belief without evidence
• Belief based on religious
doctrines rather than proof
• Confidence over and above
the value of evidence

33. CHRISTIANS & ATHEISTS SPEAK DIFFERENT
LANGUAGES
Ecklund: intelligent, educated unbelievers in academia
speak about religion in “restricted code” based on
stereotypes
Limits their ability to expand their social networks and
communicate with believers
Atheists are more likely to see no possibility of
reconciliation than Christians

34. Reflects the general erosion of public Christianity
Most were raised with no religion, superficial religion, or
fundamentalism*
Some were hurt or disappointed by religion*
Most became atheist at a young age*
• Went into science because of atheism
• Only 10% became less religious through scientific training
*Source: Elaine Ecklund, Science vs. Religion
WHY ARE SO MANY SCIENTISTS ATHEIST?

35. Science is a substitute for religion for
atheists, who still have the same needs
we all have
• Science offers the possibility of
answers to questions about existence
• Science offers a sense of connection
to something bigger

36. Relatively few nonbelieving scientists are hostile to their believing
colleagues
Most are intrigued, e.g. by Francis Collins; they want to talk to their
believing colleagues about science and religion
We may have an impression that scientists are more hostile to belief
than they really are
Need for “boundary pioneers”
Source: Elaine Ecklund, Science vs. Religion
THERE IS HOPE

37. New trend:
Younger scientists are
increasingly more
likely to be religious

38. SUMMARY
Most scientists believe in God or a higher power
Older and elite scientists least likely to be religious
Younger scientists are increasingly more likely to be
religious
Science did not make them atheist
Many unbelieving scientists want to dialogue!

39. Raise children fully engaged in Christianity
• Nominal Christianity easily falls away
• Discuss reasons for belief
Don’t discourage / retreat from tough questions
• Failure to address questions (“just have faith”) breeds doubt
• Okay to say “I don’t know” and turn to other resources
Minister to intelligent, inquisitive young Christians
• Apologetics ministries
Scientists who are Christian: become boundary pioneers!
• Invite dialogue with colleagues, students
WHAT CAN CHRISTIANS DO?