Do the words ‘belief’ and ‘faith’ belong in science?

The words faith and belief obviously have a natural home in religious discussions. Should scientists avoid using such words, as in statements like ‘”I believe in the theory of evolution” or “I have faith in the law of gravity”, since that seems to put them on a par with “I have faith/believe in god” and enables religionists to claim that scientific theories are similar to religious beliefs? In a recent comments section, a recurring suggestion came up that in order to avoid this misapprehension, we should avoid use of the words belief and faith altogether in scientific discussions. [Read more…]

More evidence of the decline of religion in the US

Via Machines Like Us, I learned of a new survey that Gallup released last week that found that the number of Americans who self-identify as ‘nonreligious’ is an astounding 31%. This is much larger than what a Pew survey three months ago reported of 20% for self-identified ‘nones’ and that caused such consternation in religious circles. [Read more…]

Hands off Social Security and Medicare!

One of the astonishing things about the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations is how many politicians and people in the media talk of raising the marginal income tax rates on the highest earners by a small amount as a quid pro quo for raising the retirement age for Social Security (currently 67 for those born in 1960 and later) and the eligibility age for Medicare (currently 65). They seem to treat those as if they were somehow equal-valued chips in a game. [Read more…]