At 12:03 PM 3/5/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>Relax! It's only a reference.
>
>I was listening to the People's radio on Sunday morning (that's
>the CBC up here in the Great Frozen North), and there was an
>interview with the severely talented science journalist Natalie
>Angier, who writes for the New York Times. It seems she has
>"outed" herself as a "prickly atheist" in the New York Times
>Magazine recently (January 14, 2001: Confessions of a lonely
>atheist).
>
>It's a provocative essay, with provocative quotes, and, as is her
>style, sprinkled with interesting data. For example, while 40% of
>individuals listed in American Men and Women of Science profess a
>belief in a "personal God", only 7% of those admitted to the more
>exalted National Academy of Sciences do. But more than 99% of
>those in US Federal prisons are believers.
>
>I wouldn't dare comment on what those figures mean. I cite them
>only to encourage you to dig this thoughtful article up,
>especially those in the throes of our current discussion of the
>topic.
>
>-Stephen
>
Certainly brings to mind the old line, "There are no atheists in foxholes."
And aside from the obvious empirical questions this raises (such as the
relationship between religiosity or belief in the [an?] Almighty, and sense
of desperation in one's own life circumstances), this also could be good
fodder for discussion in class of correlation/causation. Are they believers
or nonbelievers because of where they are, or are they where they are
because they are believers/nonbelievers, or is some third variable behind
them both?
Bob
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Robert T. Herdegen III
Department of Psychology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943
804-223-6166
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