Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

political pluralism

Science Corner: Who is My Neighbor?

The y-axis is a statistic of sorting; higher numbers mean one group is very different than the other. (Image made by Andy Walsh)

By the time you read this, the United States will be learning the outcomes of midterm elections. Obviously I don’t know the results to comment. Regardless of the outcome, though, I think it is likely we will continue to hear about the partisan divide or variations thereof. And that is a topic which science can offer some insight into, specifically the impact of social media on polarization–specifically, our increased sorting into homogeneous groups with little in common between them. If you suspect social media isn’t helping, you are likely right–but maybe not for the reason you think.
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Science Corner: Party People

division photo
I don’t know what is actually going on in these fields, but as a visual representation of separating differences, I think it works. (Photo by A. K. Azad )

Greetings, future friends! I’m writing to you from the past, before Election Day in the United States. I hope you were all able to vote as you deemed appropriate, and you were able to do so safely. Maybe by Wednesday morning (or whenever you read this) you know the outcomes or maybe not; I certainly don’t here in the past. But I am reasonably confident that, regardless of the results, we’ll still need to come to grips with our political polarization or political sectarianism. To that end, we may benefit from a body of psychology and sociology research identifying the nature of the divide, some contributing factors, and most helpfully, possible interventions that have demonstrated some efficacy in reducing animosity.
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Science Corner: A View From the Poles

polar view photo
My on-the-nose attempt at visualizing a polar perspective. (Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video )

Summer, or at least the summer school holiday, is winding down, but it’s not too late to take up a summer project. I was challenged by an interview I heard with New York Times‘ columnist David Leonhardt to reconsider my point of view on an issue. While perhaps not exactly the kind of political issue Leonhardt may have had in mind, the first issue I thought of was the value of conflict–not a physical donnybrook but points of genuine disagreement or contrast in perspective on matters philosophical, theological, political, etc. For example, I have tended to buy into the narrative that polarization in politics is undesirable or counterproductive while bipartisanship is preferable. But both Leonhardt and an earlier guest on the same podcast (former Congressman Mickey Edwards) make an interesting case for polarization, or at least for a more nuanced understanding of partisanship. Or when it comes to science and faith, I am wary of the conflict thesis, making me skeptical of the value of military metaphors in The War on Science for example. So a thoughtful and well-reasoned essay on the value of conflict between science and religion seemed like a perfect opportunity to start my new summer project.
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Book Review: Flourishing, by Miroslav Volf

Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World, Miroslav Volf (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015).
Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World, Miroslav Volf (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015).

Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World, Miroslav Volf. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015.

Summary: Volf argues that the twin globalizing forces of international economics and world religions, problematic as they may be, may also be the source of rich and holistic flourishing for the human community. [Read more…] about Book Review: Flourishing, by Miroslav Volf