The Attack on Religion in America

We hear a lot from politicians and televangelists such as Pat Robertson claiming religion is under attack - and they are right. Religion is under attack, but not in the way they want us to think it is. When they say religion is under attack, they really mean Christianity because it is the most popular religion in America. We don’t hear them complaining when Islam, Scientology, Mormonism etc. is being ridiculed.

Let’s be clear, there is a difference between the ideas of a religion being attacked and attacking the right to worship. The right to worship or practice a religion is not under attack, it’s the credibility of religious claims which are being attacked.

In a free society, ideas are and should be up for debate because ideas matter, especially when those ideas influence government. America is a nation built on freedom, and because of that everything can be under attack including freedom itself. In order to keep this freedom we must stay vigilant of those who want to restrict our freedoms and in many cases, religion is the tool used to achieve this.

Those complaining that religion is under attack aren't upset because their religious beliefs are being misconstrued (because they aren't). They are angry because the facts and evidence show that religious claims lack credibility, and they don’t care whether their beliefs are true – they care about how their beliefs makes them feel. When the credibility of one’s religion is put into question it is very uncomfortable for those who don’t value the truth. If more people are losing their faith in Christianity, then Christianity eventually will lose its power and influence in government. This is a power it should never have had in the first place and losing it is what frustrates and scares them most.

When we hear people whining about an attack on religion, we need to realize that what they are really complaining about is the fact that people are waking up and telling them they have no right to force their views on others – because no one is trying to take away their right to worship. There is not a decline in churches or religious programming in America – freedom of religion is very much alive but so is the amount of people who are thinking for themselves and questioning religious claims. Just because religion is losing the argument, it doesn't mean that religious freedom is under attack. 

Why People Become So Fearful of Government and Politicians

We all know someone who distrusts and is even fearful of the government and politicians. It seems no matter what facts are presented to them, they continue to hold these fears despite having good reasons for this fear. It is almost as if they want to be fearful because it provides them some form of comfort.

So why do people tend to be so fearful? Well, there are many variables that can cause this fear such as a lack of education, media, indoctrination of an ideology etc., but another explanation for this fear can be found in the history of human evolution.

Humans evolved to be fearful, for example - if 100,000 years ago a woman was picking berries and heard something in the bushes but didn't think anything of it - that thing she ignored might have been a bear and was likely to be killed (resulting in her genes not getting passed on).

If the same situation happened but this time she became fearful and ran home even though she didn't know what was in the bushes - then she was more likely to live long enough to pass on her genes. What she heard may have just been the wind, but in this situation being scared is better than not being scared - because in evolution it is better for a species to be safe than sorry, otherwise they are likely to go extinct. So those who are paranoid and easily scared are more likely to survive; hence why the world is full of individuals who are fearful of those different from themselves.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't be skeptical of government and politics, it is healthy to question and not blindly follow authority - but we must have a healthy balance.

So how do we find the right balance of being cautious but not too cautious? The key is educating ourselves on the things we don’t understand and admitting that our current understanding could be wrong. Having a better understanding of government and the views of those we feel disagree with us etc., will lessen our fears of the unknown and help us make better decisions going further. Not being educated on issues and simply relying on gut feelings to make decisions often makes the problem worse.

This video of Romney supporters being interviewed at a rally in Ohio is a great example of how ignorance enhances fear. My favorite is “he is a Muslim (President Obama) - his father was a Muslim, his father was an atheist, and his father was a communist." If you don’t understand what is wrong with this statement - please leave a comment below so someone can explain it.

How Science Pages on Facebook Are Influencing Politics

There are many excellent pages on Facebook focusing on science and the most popular of these with over 5.6 million "likes" is I F#@%ing Love Science and its child-friendly mirror page Science is Awesome. Pages such as these are educating people on the discoveries of science and inspiring more people to become interested in this subject. But these pages may be doing more than just educating people on science -they could be the foundation to improving the state of politics in countries such as the United States.

In the past, if one didn't finish high school or didn't continue their education by going to college, they weren't likely to ever be scientifically literate; and even if they did go to college, they may not have been scientifically literate after graduating. Today, we no longer need to go college in order to be scientifically literate, and Facebook makes it easier for those who are passionate about science to share their passion with others. But how can these pages have a positive effect on our politics?

When Astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked if he would run for President he said, "One objective reality is that our government doesn't work, not because we have dysfunctional politicians, but because we have dysfunctional voters. As a scientist and educator, my goal… is not to become President and lead a dysfunctional electorate, but to enlighten the electorate so they might choose the right leaders in the first place."

Citizens often complain about how government is broken and some even think we need to get rid of government altogether. But they forget that government is made up of their own citizens and they are the ones who voted for them to lead the country in the first place. They are equally at fault for the country's problems whether they admit it or not.

Government is not the problem; it is the electorate not being scientifically literate and easily being manipulated into voting for politicians who have no business in government in the first place. If we vote for politicians who don't accept evolution as fact, then we can't be surprised when they try to teach "intelligent design" in the science classroom. If they don't accept the scientific evidence of climate change, then they won't be motivated to solve the problem - because to them, there isn't a problem to solve. And if they do accept the fact that earth is getting warmer but believe their savior will return before it gets too bad, then that is even worse as they may be hoping it gets bad.

There are many countries that would love to have a government that is set up like the United States'. America didn't become a great nation because of a lack of government; it became great due to how the government was structured. But no matter how well a government is set up, if the politicians aren't scientifically literate and are relying on gut feelings or faith when making decisions - then a government will not be able to solve problems effectively.

Science is the best tool we have for understanding our world and as Neil deGrasse Tyson has said, "Scientific literacy is an intellectual vaccine against the claims of charlatans who would exploit ignorance." If voters are becoming more scientifically literate due to these Facebook pages, then the number of voters making better decisions at the voting booth will go up as well. This leads to more politicians in office willing to look at the evidence when making decisions.

If you have not liked pages such as these, make sure you do and share posts you find interesting with your friends! Here are a few other great pages to check out - The Universe, The Earth Story, Science Cosmos, Space.com, The Beauty of Science & Reality, and Universlings for Science and Reason.