Dennett and LaScola have published a paper dealing with “Preachers Who Are Not Believers” (Evolutionary Psychology 2010. 8(1):122-150) which was originally posted on the Newsweek/Washington Post Website. These authors interviewed 5 pastors, 3 of … [Continue reading] about Unbelieving Pastors – Belief in Belief?
Compassion?
I try not to blog about politics, but the whole ordeal of passing Health Care Reform (HCR) in the U.S. stunned me. I can understand political fights and in-fighting. I can understand passionate debate over issues. I can even understand … [Continue reading] about Compassion?
Confirmation Bias in Prayer
While Confirmation Bias is a simple concept – we remember the “hits” and forget the “misses” – we have to be constantly vigilant to make sure we aren’t committing this error. This is especially difficult because most people place a high value on … [Continue reading] about Confirmation Bias in Prayer
Religion and Prejudice
Dr Wendy Wood, Deborah Hall and David Matz conducted a meta-analysis of 55 independent studies conducted from 1964 to 2008 that looked at the relationship between religion and prejudice in the United States (Personality and Social Psychology Review … [Continue reading] about Religion and Prejudice
Politics, Religion & the “Golden Age”
There is a reason why there is the old adage of never discussing politics and religion in polite company. They are both very similar in nature. Both have a strong “us” vs. “them” mentality - a mentality that must be maintained by any group wanting to … [Continue reading] about Politics, Religion & the “Golden Age”