Reading Scripture - Good For Society?

[seer]

Interesting Study:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-..._b_897017.html

Franzen found frequency of Bible reading was one of the most powerful predictors of attitudes on moral and political issues. Consider some of the findings:

* The likelihood of Christians saying it is important to actively seek social and economic justice to be a good person increased 39 percent with each jump up the ladder of the frequency of reading Scripture, from reading the Bible less than once a year to no more than once a month to about weekly to several times a week or more.

* Christian respondents overall were 27 percent more likely to say it is important to consume or use fewer goods to be a good person as they became more frequent Bible readers.

* Reading the Bible more often also was linked to improved attitudes toward science. Respondents were 22 percent less likely to view religion and science as incompatible at each step toward more frequent Bible reading.

* The issues seemed to matter more than conservative-liberal tags. In the case of another major public policy debate, same-sex unions, nearly half of respondents who read the Bible less than once a year said homosexuals should be allowed to marry, while only 6 percent of people who read the Bible several times a week or more approved of such marriages.

[Leonhard]

It might be an interesting study, but we're not actually reading the study, we're reading a reporters take of the study.

The Huffington Post is, in my humble opinion, a tabloid with a bad tendency of misquoting and reinterpreting a good many science reports in the name of pandering to what it considers its target audiences. I know they are pandering to the alternative medicine crowd, so you often find articles dealing the MMR vaccine as the cause of autism, various articles promoting homeopathy and acupuncture. Unfortunately journalists in general are worse than mediocre when it comes to Science reporting. However the Huffington Post is notoriously bad. I have some skeptical alarm bells ringing, and I've sent an email to Aaron Franzen to see whether he can confirm that they quoted him correctly, and I especially wanted the source to see whether it was a large and properly controlled study (doubtful) or only a small preliminary study (most likely). *Edit* Note, after writing this post I found out that its a study that's still passing through Journal Review. It might be interesting to read when it comes out, even though its still probably a small preliminary study.

It feels a bit a fishy, but I currently don't have much against it other than a fishy feeling. I don't trust the Huffington's posts reporting of the study, but I don't know if I have anything against the study itself. I haven't read it yet after all. It sounds intuitively correct that if you're reading the bible often, then you're more likely to support stuff like: Religion and Science coexisting, greater empathy towards people in need, more equality and fairness, etc... That's enough for a hunch for me, but not damning evidence. I'll report back if I hear from Aaron Franzen or find the study they're citing.

To deflect potential accusations of poisoning the well, I never argued that the results were wrong, just that I don't trust The Huffington Post's reporting of it.

[shunyadragon]

Interesting Study:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-..._b_897017.html

I see some definite contradictions with other polls, particularly those related to science. I will look in it more and watch the thread.

[Leonhard]

Got an answer back from the email exchange, here are the results:

Hello, I'm a curious reader from Denmark who happened to read an article in The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-..._b_897017.html). It attributed you as a source for the following factoids: Increased reading of the bible predicted greater .."frequent Bible reading predicted greater support for issues ranging from the compatibility of science and religion to more humane treatment of criminals." and "Thus, even as opposition to same-sex marriage and legalized abortion tends to increase with more time spent with the Bible, so does the number of people who say it is important to actively seek social and economic justice, Franzen found."

I was wondering if you could confirm whether or not you have been reported correctly and provide the source for the article describing the study that they're citing.

Hope you have time to answer this post, much appreciated in any case, Leonhard Printz

Yes, the article is correct in what you show below. The information comes from a recent study that I recently completed and is currently under review at the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Thanks for you interest in the research. Best,

Aaron
Aaron Franzen Graduate Student Department of Sociology Baylor University

Great, it seems the salient points of the article are correct in reporting what the study found. Now there's just looking forward to having the report, so that it can be properly dissected.

[seer]

Got an answer back from the email exchange, here are the results:


Great, it seems the salient points of the article are correct in reporting what the study found. Now there's just looking forward to having the report, so that it can be properly dissected.

So back to my original point - it seems that regular bible reading makes one a better citizen, and more open to science - yes?

[shunyadragon]

So back to my original point - it seems that regular bible reading makes one a better citizen, and more open to science - yes?

No

[seer]

No

Well if the study is correct then I think the answer would be yes...

[Leonhard]

So back to my original point - it seems that regular bible reading makes one a better citizen, and more open to science - yes?

I don't think the report says that people who are frequent readers are also more open to science. As far as I can see, ignoring the journalists spin, it said that bible reading was a good predictor of a person believing that there's was no incompatibility with religion and science. Whether that translates to an increased interest in Science I don't know. Then again I'm not sure what you mean with 'open to science'. Do you mean greater interest? Or simple that a person is less likely to reject the conclusions of science? Either way I'm not sure that this study is gonna show that. Its not even clear from the this article about the study.

Calling a study 'correct' is not very satisfying. Most preliminary scientific results are wrong. So depending on the size of this study and how it was performed it could either be a significant result, or it could be a preliminary result that will be used call for bigger grants for bigger and better controlled studies. My guess -and yes it is just a guess- is that this is a preliminary study, the results of which should be taken with some skepticism. They might be interesting, and all else being equal, if the results are significant and the peer-review positive, then I'll take it as some evidence that the conclusion of the report is true. However I'd still be very open to revision of the results, and I wouldn't bet my life on further studies reaffirming the conclusions.

[shunyadragon]

Well if the study is correct then I think the answer would be yes...

. . . if the study is correct is the big question. The history of polls in the past 40 years tells a very different story.

I would also have know how the survey defines considering 'science compatible with religion.' AIG and other YEC fundamentalist consider their views as in harmony with 'true' science. Polls show that the higher the church attendance the more likely the believer rejects evolution, and in general approval of evolution is declining among Christians over the years, which is universally endorsed by science. Enrollment in graduate schools in science and philosophy is declining among Christians in the US, and that is not a good sign.