It’s hard to know what to do! Is it okay for me to stick with this job because it pays well, and life here is expensive? But I want to do something meaningful for God, too! A friend shared this wrestling with me during a Zoom call. But his questions aren’t unique. He could have been one of the newly graduated students with whom I’ve worked in campus ministry, who are now in their various workplaces, ranging from tech companies to hospitals to financial institutions to academia. Where is the meaning in what I do at work? … [Read more...] about Book Review: Working for Better by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels
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Can Scientists Talk About Religion?
Last month, I blogged about the religious discrimination lawsuit filed by astronomer Martin Gaskell against the University of Kentucky. I included a quote from Elaine Howard Ecklund's book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think about the degree to which religious scientists feel they can be open about their faith and beliefs. Now, I want to return to Ecklund's book and discuss one of her conclusions that I have found very insightful: nonreligious scientists have an extremely limited language for discussing … [Read more...] about Can Scientists Talk About Religion?
How open should you be about your faith?
I was all prepared to write a post about astronomer Martin Gaskell's lawsuit against the University of Kentucky, but Jesus Creed blogger RJS (a scientist at a major research university) beat me to the punch and stole many of my points. Here's a quick summary of Gaskell's case (which is still pending). According to news reports: Gaskell was a leading candidate for a new position in UK's Department of Physics and Astronomy as a director for a public observatory. Gaskell had held a similar position at the University of … [Read more...] about How open should you be about your faith?
Are “agnostic” scientists really agnostic?
Last week, I became engaged in a rather lengthy online conversation about the religious faith of university scientists. It was prompted by this GetReligion post about Francis Collins. In my comments, I cited Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund's recent book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, as well as her online article "Religion and Spirituality among University Scientists" (PDF). Ecklund's research examines the religious beliefs and practices of university scientists, with some important findings … [Read more...] about Are “agnostic” scientists really agnostic?
Week in Review: Future of Evangelicals Edition
What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here's a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you'd like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike. 1. The Future of Evangelicals in Academia. Who else to address this question than Mark Noll, historian and author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Lots of good material in this interview, including some of his impressions of James … [Read more...] about Week in Review: Future of Evangelicals Edition