“The success of adult stem cell research is being underplayed in favour of more controversial work using embryonic cells, according to religious figures who blame ‘aggressive secularism’ and the ‘personal investment’ of researchers in their projects for the alleged bias …” (more)
[Elizabeth Gibney, Times Higher Education, 21 February]
“Sir, – Your Editorial ‘Teaching time at primary level’ (December 14th) echoes Ruairí Quinn’s misguided supposition that the amount of time allocated to religion in our primary phase of education somehow influences the mediocre performance in mathematics and science …” (more)
[Alan Whelan, Irish Times, 19 December]
“Fifty years ago this year, just after my family had settled in Ireland, my parents were looking around for a school to which they could send me. In Mullingar, Co Westmeath, there were a few choices, but they all had one thing in common: whichever school I might attend, each one was part of a religious denomination …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 10 September]
“Former Taoiseach John Bruton has defended denominational education as a means of protecting diversity in Ireland. Opening the Parnell summer school at Avondale, Co Wicklow, yesterday, he said that Parnell had recognised that Irish people saw a link between ethical formation and religious belief …” (more)
[Stephen Collins, Irish Times, 13 August]
“Friday is a big day in two of the world’s major religions. Christians celebrate Good Friday, the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, while Jews begin Passover, the holiday marking their ancestors’ escape from ancient Egypt. Which of the world’s major religions has the most festivals and holidays throughout the year? …” (more)
[Brian Palmer, Slate, 6 April]
“Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will inquire with the Higher Education and Training Awards Council if, and if so, the reason, it approved the religion module in the higher diploma in arts in primary education in a college (details supplied) which contained statements that have caused extreme offence in the atheist community; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann, 13 March]
“For years, a commonly held belief has been that more educated Americans are less likely to embrace religion. But an article forthcoming in The Review of Religious Research suggests that the relationship between education and faith is more nuanced, and that more education has a negative impact only on certain religious questions, not on all of them …” (more)
[Scott Jaschik, University World News, 14 August]
“Should the University of Kentucky have hired a qualified astronomer to lead their new observatory, despite his strong religious views and his public doubts about evolution? Or was their decision to pass him over discrimination? Alas for those who would relish a public hashing out of these thorny questions, a lawsuit over the matter has been settled …” (more)
[Emma Marris, The Great Beyond, 19 January]
“This is a topic that I’ve been interested in posting on for quite a while but never quite got around to it. To me, the idea of religion seems somewhat counter to the idea of being highly educated. I realize I’m going to offend a number of people, so let me preface this post with the following note: this is not intended to malign the religious nor is it an attack on personal beliefs …” (more)
[The Traveling Scholar, 19 September]
“When Darren Sherkat published a paper in a major sociology journal in the 1990s, focused on Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, he said that the reaction from many senior scholars was ‘dismissive’. He remembers one telling him ‘this is garbage’ for citing Weber’s views on the significance of religious values. ‘It can’t be religion’ driving human behavior, the scholar told the then un-tenured Sherkat. ‘It’s got to be something else that caused the religion’ …” (more)
[Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, 9 February]
“The UCC Philosophical Society is a forum designed to facilitate democratic debate. At its most recent debate — ‘That we believe God is fraud’ — the audience and those who participated endured an affront to democracy. It was a riveting debate with speakers from far and wide who had earnestly waited until the close for the result of the vote. An audience of about 50 voted and it was hard to tell which side had actually won. Members of the audience called for a count, but instead of counting hands the guest auditor dismissed the votes of the audience saying ‘in the interests of this house getting to the social, I call this debate a tie’. Basically, getting to the pub was more important than seeing which side had won …” (more)
[Mary O’Regan, Irish Examiner, 27 February]
