Psychotics fornicate, producing more psychotics, proving evolution and causing climate change... ===== Are religion and end times thinking now wrapped up with the denial of global warming? All across the country—most recently, in the state of Texas—local battles over the teaching of evolution are taking on a new complexion. More and more, it isnt just evolution under attack, its also the teaching of climate science. The National Center for Science Education, the leading group defending the teaching of evolution across the country, has even broadened its portfolio: Now, it protects climate education too. How did these issues get wrapped up together? On its face, there isnt a clear reason—other than a marriage of convenience—why attacks on evolution and attacks on climate change ought to travel side by side. After all, we know why people deny evolution: Religion, especially the fundamentalist kind. And we know why people deny global warming: Free market ideology and libertarianism. These are not, last I checked, the same thing. (If anything, libertarians may be the most religiously skeptical group on the political right.) And yet clearly theres a relationship between the two issue stances. If youre in doubt, watch this Climate Desk video of a number of members of Congress citing religion in the context of questioning global warming: Indeed, recent research suggests that Christian end times believers are less likely to see a need for action on global warming. And now new research by Yales Dan Kahan further reaffirms that theres something going on here. More specifically, Kahan showed that there is a correlation (.25, which is weak to modest, but significant) between a persons religiosity and his or her tendency to think that global warming isnt much of a risk. Perhaps even more tellingly, Kahan also found that among highly religious individuals, as their ability to comprehend science increases, so does their denial of the risk posed by global warming. Heres some data he presented:
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 06:57:07 +0000