Böcker av Elaine Howard (Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences Ecklund

A significant number of Americans view atheists as immoral elitists, aloof and unconcerned with the common good, and they view science and scientists as responsible. Thanks in large part to the prominence and influence of New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens, New Atheism has claimed the pulpit of secularity in Western society. New Atheists have given voice to marginalized nonreligious individuals and underscoredthe importance of science in society. They have also advanced a derisive view of religion and forcefully argued that science and religion are intrinsically in conflict.Many in the public around the globe think that all scientists are atheists and that all atheist scientists are New Atheists, militantly against religion and religious people. But what do everyday atheist scientists actually think about religion? Drawing on a survey of 1,293 atheist scientists in the U.S. and U.K., and 81 in-depth interviews, this book explains the pathways that led to atheism among scientists, the diverse views of religion they hold, their perspectives on the limits to whatscience can explain, and their views of meaning and morality. The findings reveal a vast gulf between the rhetoric of New Atheism in the public sphere and the reality of atheism in science. The story of the varieties of atheism in science is consequential for both scientific and religious communitiesand points to tools for dialogue between these seemingly disparate groups.

Based on over 600 interviews and surveys of over 20,000 scientists worldwide, Secularity and Science: What Scientists Around the World Really Think About Religion tells the story of the relationship between science and religion in the lives of scientists. The book makes four key claims: there are more religious scientists than we might think; religion and science overlap in scientific work; scientists - even atheist scientists - see spirituality in science;and finally, the idea that religion and science must conflict is primarily an invention of the West.