At 10:51 AM 8/29/2005, Del Thomas Ph. D. wrote:
A recent report found that 90+ Americans believed that the universe was
created by a supreme being. I have no more information, and it could be spin.
However, there have been a series of "findings" indicating that close to
half the population has been born again and or rejects Darwin. Students
and sociologists will be included
in these findings. That leads me to the following questions.
1. Can you be a sociologist and believe that the universe was created by
a supreme being?
Sure. Sociology has nothing to say about the origin of the universe--it
isn't even an object of scientific inquiry for sociology. As such,
sociology can neither confirm or deny such a belief. More generally, any
scientist could hold such a belief since there is no way for such a belief
to be subjected to a scientific evaluation of evidence. The problems arise
when believers convince themselves (and try to convince others) that their
beliefs ARE based upon scientific research. As such, a big part of my job
is just to get students to see the difference between
scientifically-established fact and belief.
I personally believe in a jolly, roly-poly, red-coated guy with a beard who
brings an end to every fall semester just before I go nuts.
Gerry Grzyb
