Science, Belief and Society
International Perspectives on Religion, Non-Religion and the Public Understanding of Science
Edited by Stephen Jones, Rebecca Catto and Tom Kaden
Published
May 22, 2019Page count
344 pagesISBN
978-1529206944Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
May 22, 2019Page count
344 pagesISBN
978-1529206975Dimensions
Imprint
Bristol University PressPublished
May 22, 2019Page count
344 pagesISBN
978-1529206982Dimensions
Imprint
Bristol University Press
Science, Belief and Society
The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, one that has relevance to everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce.
This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific theories and practices. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.
Stephen H. Jones is a Lecturer at the University of Birmingham and serves as current General Secretary of the Muslims in Britain Research Network (MBRN). He specialises in contemporary Muslim communities and public perceptions of science and religion and has published widely on these themes.
Rebecca Catto is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Kent State University, USA. She is interested in secular-religious interactions in Britain and North America. Rebecca has published widely on atheism, Christian mission, youth and religion, state-religion relations, and science and religion.
Tom Kaden is Academic Council at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Bayreuth, where he is working on a general sociology of conflict. Previously he worked as a Research Associate at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he explored the relationship between religion and science for Canadian life scientists and members of the public.
Foreword ~ Grace Davie
Editor’s Introduction: Science, Belief and the Sociological Tradition ~ Stephen H. Jones, Tom Kaden and Rebecca Catto
Part I: Methodological Challenges in the Study of Science and Belief
The Sociological Study of Science and Religion in Context ~ Fern Elsdon-Baker and Will Mason-Wilkes
Survey-based Research on Science and Religion: A Review and Critique ~ Jonathan P. Hill
Language, Labels and Lived Identity in Debates about Science, Religion and Belief ~ Tom Kaden, Stephen H. Jones and Rebecca Catto
Researching Clergy Attitudes towards Science: A Reflective Account of Key Methodological Challenges ~ Lydia Reid
PART II: Belief in the Study of Science and Technology
From ‘Science and Religion’ to ‘Transcendence in Science’, or: What We Can Learn from the (History of) Science and Technology Studies ~ Silke Gülker
Rational Believers: Religion, Tradition and Spirituality among Indian Scientists ~ Renny Thomas
Muslim Perceptions of Biological Evolution: A Critical Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Research ~ Jessica Carlisle, Salman Hameed and Fern Elsdon-Baker
PART III: Science, Culture and Non-religion
Feeling Rational: Affinity and Affinity Narratives in British Science–Non-religion Relations ~ Lois Lee
Avoiding the ‘Anti-intellectual Abyss’: How Secular Humanists in Sweden try to Define the Boundaries between Science, Religion, Pseudoscience and Postmodernism ~ Susanne Kind
Atheism and the Social Sciences ~ Stephen LeDrew
PART IV: Religion, Conflict and Moderation
Science and the Unearned Virtues of the ‘Really Religious People’: Exploring the Association between Perceived Religiosity and Science Rejection among Students in the Midwestern United States ~ David E. Long
Discourses on Science and Islam: A View from Britain ~ Amy Unsworth
Conclusion: Future Directions in the Sociological Study of Science and Belief ~ Stephen H. Jones, Rebecca Catto and Tom Kaden
