science

John Chung-En Liu and Andrew Szasz. 2019. “Now Is the Time to Add More Sociology of Climate Change to Our Introduction to Sociology Courses.” Teaching Sociology.

Young people around the world want to talk about climate change. Intro to Sociology classes could capitalize on students’ interest by demonstrating how sociological thinking is useful for understanding it. For instance, one unit could focus on the factors that make social movements–like the Youth Climate movement–effective. Another could illustrate how inequalities in housing and access to resources mean that climate change will disproportionately impact less advantaged. Still others could show how our socialization shapes how we think about the importance of protecting the environment, or how social institutions can impact climate change and its effects.

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Tensions between religion and science are not new.  Today, many people assume that scientists are athiests, but little is actually known about their religious and spiritual views.  To learn more, Elaine Howard Ecklund conducted a study of religion among scientists.  She explores the results of the study in the 2008 Contexts feature “Religion and Spirituality Among Scientists.”  Below are a few questions to accompany the article.

1)    Does the finding that scientists often hold religious views surprise you?  Would you assume it varies by discipline? Why or why not?

2)    Why do you think a greater proportion of scientists are atheists than the general population?

3)    Considering that 69% of social scientists surveyed identified as spiritual, how might you explain a reluctance to discuss religion in an academic setting?