Scientific American is a magazine with a clear left wing, atheistic bias, and does not speak for the scientific community as a whole. As a working chemist, I have met and worked with many scientists, the vast majority of whom are Christians. None of them have been ridiculed, shamed, or in any way professionally harmed by their religious beliefs. The only way that this would occur, and rightly so, is if they allowed their religious beliefs to override the evidence that they gather and therefore caused their beliefs to color their scientific findings. Scientists must put aside personal beliefs and focus exclusively on the evidence.
"beliefs. The only way that this would occur, and rightly so, is if they allowed their religious beliefs to override the evidence that they gather and therefore caused their beliefs to color their scientific findings. Scientists must put aside personal beliefs and focus exclusively on the evidence."
My argument is with those scientists who look at the religious mindset of Christian scientists ultimately weakening the work that they do. Just because you happen to be among a polite set of friends doesn't mean that on the whole, the scientific community looks upon religious folk with tolerance, particularly religious minded scientists. I will allow that the situation is probably more tolerant in America, but when you throw Europe and Asia into the mix, a scientist with a strong religious faith stands as an anachronism. A recent survey said that about 35 per cent of American scientists has a religious minded view, the rest agnostic or Atheistic.
Further more I'm more focused on the "science writer or social science activist types" who aren't actually very schooled in the sciences or were 2.5GPA types. These folk tend to be very leftist in their views and and tend to misapply concepts of evolutionary science in the attempt to remake society. Just look at Margaret Sanger, Hitler, Lenin, and practically all the socialist governments of the EU.(well the EU part is a little over board). These folks cited biology and evolution in their attempts to remake society.
Regular Christians aren't so concerned about Evolution per se but rather about the political misuse of these theories by men with darker purposes that the average regular scientist working in the biological fields would ever espouse!