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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy It's Easier for Republicans to Believe in God Than Evolution
Of course, there are a few liberals still hooked on god too, but they are not creationists!
7 Reasons Why It's Easier for Humans to Believe in God Than Evolution
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/11/seven-evolutionary-reasons-people-deny-evolution
Yet even as creationists keep trying to undermine modern science, modern science is beginning to explain creationism scientifically. And it looks like evolutionthe scientifically uncontested explanation for the diversity and interrelatedness of life on Earth, emphatically including human lifewill be a major part of the story. Our brains are a stunning product of evolution; and yet ironically, they may naturally pre-dispose us against its acceptance.
"I don't think there's any question that a variety of our mental dispositions are ones that discourage us from taking evolutionary theory as seriously as it should be taken," explains Robert N. McCauley, director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture at Emory University and author of the book Why Religion is Natural and Science is Not.
So what can science tell us about our not-so-scientific minds? Here's a list of cognitive traits, thinking styles, and psychological factors identified in recent research that seem to thwart evolution acceptance:
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hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Skip Intro
(19,768 posts)Or, at least, many profess to, including the Obamas.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)THAT kind of belief gets in the way of thinking.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)I rather doubt it. Most Democrats are rationalists.
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(19,768 posts)Coyotl
(15,262 posts)But frankly and regretfully, politicians in the USA need to pretend to be Christians.
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(19,768 posts)If a person is going to put that much effort into deceiving the public, they don't belong in office.
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(19,768 posts)Coyotl
(15,262 posts)I thought we lived in an Age of Reason, not the dark Ages still!
Of course, this poll fails to explain why hardly anyone I know believes those fairy tales......
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)It seems the important thing isn't that one have a specific rational basis for the belief, or even that one be able to coherently explain what it is, exactly, that they're claiming belief in.. Nor is it important if for some of that 90% the word means some giant invisible man in the sky ready to throw hurricanes at New Orleans over gay pride marches, while for others of that 90% the word "God" can mean, 12 Step style, "The Universe" or even "a doorknob".
That wildly different, even wholly contradictory, definitions of the word "God" are included in the statement of belief by that 90%, matters not one whit, it seems....
No, the important thing is that one state loudly and clearly their firm belief in the word which is never actually defined or logically explained.. so they can be differentiated from, you know..
those people.
Nine
(1,741 posts)You claim the poll is inaccurate because the wording is vague and broad; you'd prefer it ask people whether they believe in a "giant invisible man in the sky." But that's YOUR impression of religion/faith/spirituality. Many, many people who consider themselves religious, spiritual, faithful, whatever DO have a concept of God (or Gods) that is far more complex, nuanced, and personal than that. And that includes the people who attend church and call themselves as "Christians." There is a subset of obnoxious atheists who simply can't accept that "God" can mean anything other than "magical sky fairy."
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)as if that proves something, without bothering to even attempt at a commonly agreed-on definition of what the word means.
So lacking even a basic common definition for what the word "God" means (including, but by no means limited to- does this make me one of those annoyingly pesky Atheists? - a "magical sky fairy" as well as numerous totally contradictory definitons of the word) what is the purpose of this poll?
Oh, I'll tell you what the purpose of the poll is. As a "fuck you" to Atheists. That's about it.
Edited to add: Given your misunderstanding of what I said before, you might want to reread my prior post, and work on your reading comprehension a bit. Just a suggestion.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,390 posts)than Mooney's 'humans'. Personally, I accepted the concept of evolution before I had a good idea of what people meant by 'God' (and this was growing up with a Christian mother, and an agnostic father) - because I had plenty of pictures of dinosaurs and other extinct animals, in chronological order. Nothing "pre-disposed me against its acceptance". It's simpler to understand (change over time, at least - I admit natural selection needs a bit more thought than a 5 year old might give) than an invisible person who may or may not watch everything, and may or may not know what you're thinking, and may or may not be able to do everything.
gulliver
(13,197 posts)Evolution isn't.
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Science is unforgiving of that which cannot be demonstrated, while belief is personal reality even when based on a group consensus.
The2ndWheel
(7,947 posts)Completely stop it in some cases.
sendero
(28,552 posts)... is that "Christians" purport to disbelieve in evolution, but in the real world they are totally wedded to evolutionary concepts such as survival of the fittest.
Their apparent disdain of the poor and needy fly in the face of Jesus' teachings and fall squarely into the realm of social Darwinism.
moondust
(20,016 posts)then man should not be interfering in God's plan by making his own rules and regulations! Deregulate now and accept the rule of God!! Down with gubmint!!!
I suspect that sort of logic may have something to do with fundies' continued support of RW corporatists, deregulators, and government bashers--against their own interests. Government is their common enemy, albeit for different reasons.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)it can be tough to accept the idea that humans may be related to filthy, ugly monkeys.