Why does evolution lead to secularism?

Question

Why does evolution lead to secularism? Why are most evolutionary scientists athiest, agnostics, or that the very least secularists?

Answer 1

It's because science is the study of the natural world.  Since religion falls into the supernatural, it is outside of the scope of science.  

A scientist can have religious beliefs (the majority of them do) just as a religious person can accept science (all of them do, to some extent).  To try and integrate religion directly into science damages both, though.  To demand proof of God kind of undermines the whole faith thing.  To say "God did it, end of story" whenever a tough question is encountered in science guarantees that no new advancement in technology, medicine, and understanding will be made.

I should point out that religion and evolutionary theory aren't mutually exclusive, and that accepting evolution doesn't make one an atheist (otherwise, the Catholic church, among many others, would be considered an atheist organization).  What science does conflict with is a literal interpretation of the Bible, with the belief that ancient humans had some sort of special knowlege, and that the Bible is a literal and factual word-for-word resource (despite the fact that it has been translated from a translation of a translation of a translation, each time added to and subtracted from by someone with a political agenda as a means of social control).

Answer 2

It doesn't.  Those who hold to the literal word of the Bible will not engage in research they know will contradict it.  The process is one of selection, not causation.

There are numerous religious scientists who study evolution and see it as making God grander than simply saying, "formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life..."

Answer 3

*All* of science is secularist!

Secularism is the notion that religious beliefs are personal, private beliefs, and that *public* life can be kept separate.  This applies to politics, science (including medicine), academia, professional life (e.g. that one would not choose to hire or do business only with people who share your beliefs), etc.

Any time you are interacting with other human beings in public arena, and recognizing that you can make no assumptions that other people you are interracting with share your personal religious beliefs ... that is secularism.

Science is *PRECISELY* one of those public arenas where personal religious beliefs are kept out of the discussion.   That doesn't man that those beliefs are not valid.  It just means that any discussion that opens up the door to statements like "Well, according to the Bible ..." or "God chose to do X for reasons we do not understand ..." are non-starters as far as *SCIENCE* is concerned.  These may be valid statements, but they are not *SCIENTIFIC* statements.

So evolution can't lead to secularism.  Secularism is a fundamental principle of science, and evolution theory stems from pure science.

>"Why are most evolutionary scientists athiest, agnostics, or that the very least secularists?"

It is unfair to lump them all together.  Secularism is not atheism.  Many very religious people also believe in secularism when it comes to science or politics.  You can be a born-again, fundamentalist, evangelical Christian and still be a secularist.

The percentage of scientists who are secularists is about 100% ... and it is no higher and no lower for evolutionary biologists than for any other kind of science.

Answer 4

No, it doesn't necessarily, but denying evolution by natural selection makes you ignorant.  It would be the same as trying to say that the heavens revolve around the Earth.  It is beyond silly to deny that we are physically animals and share common ancestors with all other life.  There may be more to us, but physically we are descended from animals.  When religious people act ignorant, it is only natural that people would doubt anything else they might have to say.

Answer 5

There is a much simpler answer to this question than you might think. The fact is that evolution does not lead to secularism, education is what leads to secularism.

Every year Gallup does a poll on Americans opinions about evolution. Every year it clearly shows that the higher a persons level of education, the more likely they are to accept evolutionary biology. Its really just that simple.

Of course to be considered a scientist you must have a relatively high level of education.

The Gallup website has videos of these poll results but that site seems slow, so here is a link to the same video on YouTube. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=looBgVhYd...

Original from Gallup website is here:

http://www.gallup.com/video/27838/Evolut...

Answer 6

Evolution is a natural process, just as is the flow of water or the birth of an animal. It is what it has always been throughout the ages. People’s understanding of it, like any understanding of nature, affects the student in different ways.

This is probably a case of personality preference. Those with a desire to understand how things truly work would tend to avoid magic and fantasy.

Answer 7

Because it explains how the natural world produced humanity as opposed to the religious creation stories.  It goes right to the base of the religious doctrine and basically shows that there was no finger snapping that started everything.

This leads many to think that the religious books would be more metaphor than reality and that religious material is not capable of being a part of every single aspect of life and learning

As far as the scientists comments....I know some and they are all theists.  They just view their study as the true path to God's truth putting real answers proved true above old answers written in a book they are told they should just accept.  So they actually research to get closer to God as they see God as more than just a bearded man in a white robe sitting on cloud and that those who have been telling us we should just take their word about these things are not qualified to be answering these questions