fencerman t1_it34k0p wrote on October 20, 2022 at 4:16 PM

Reply to comment by BasketCase0024 in [Peter Harrison] Why religion is not going away and science will not destroy it by BasketCase0024

> It's how scientific pursuit is facing a threat from increasing religious fundamentalism in many parts of the world.

Is it, though?

There is a political backlash against the advancement of rights for marginalized groups in different parts of the world, like the anti-trans hysteria in much of the UK and US for instance.

But even though that's "anti-science" it's far from being purely religious, and there are no shortage of secular bigots involved.

The rise of "Islamic Fundamentalism" wasn't some accident, or even related to "science" at all, it was an intentionally funded movement by US and Israeli interests as a bulwark against communism and other secular nationalist movements, which was viewed as a more dangerous enemy at the time. See for instance how Israel was largely responsible for the rise of Hamas as a counter-movement to Fatah, or US funding of Saudi and Afghanistan religious extremism.

BasketCase0024 OP t1_it35a66 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 4:21 PM

While your examples are accurate, the article itself mentions different cases in India, Turkey and USA to point to the above mentioned statement.

fencerman t1_it3av38 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 4:56 PM

In those cases too, you still have to look at a deeper understanding of the conditions in those specific countries rather than a generalized "religion vs science" lens.

It's fair to link religion to authoritarian movements generally, but that's still a political issue more than a scientific one.

krussell25 t1_it633o2 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 5:03 AM

I would say it is more cultural than political. While religion is used to control the masses in many areas, that would not explain the current uprisings against the religious leaders in Iran. In that specific case, the population is not quite so religious as advertised and the corruption/brutality of the government has brought unrest.

The USA is another interesting case. The religion embracing conservatives are willing to accept a leader who is by no means a moral Christian in the hopes of stopping the progressive changes the country has seen in the past 2 generations.