Many peopler were jubilant when the US Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of gay marriage, events that lead to more freedom and equality are positive progress. However, the fact that marriage—especially to many young people—isn’t as attractive as it once was seems to be missing from most news coverage. Continue reading… “When humans live for 1,000 years, marriage won’t make sense”
For a long time, the discussion about the relationship between religious beliefs and the rejection of science, has been pretty confused, especially its two most prominent U.S. incarnations, evolution denial and climate change denial. Continue reading… “Chart shows the surprising links between faith and evolution and climate denial”
In the U.S., Christianity is the largest religion by a wide margin: more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians. Buddhism is second. The data comes from a 2010 census sponsored by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
Continue reading… “Top religion in the U.S. is christianity. Here’s the second-top in each state.”
Futurist Thomas Frey: For the past several months I’ve been wrestling with this topic, and how to discuss it from a centrist viewpoint.
Continue reading… “Which Requires More Faith, Science or Religion?”
Futurist Thomas Frey: 2013 has been a year of considerable change for both me and the rest of our team at the DaVinci Institute. While most of what you see here on Futurist Speaker is about my research, thinking, and philosophy on the future, I thought this might be a good time to step back and fill you in on the people behind everything you’re reading.
Continue reading… “Top 13 ‘Futurist Speaker’ Columns in 2013”
Sometimes we have an amazing lack of knowledge about history. Ordinary people are hungry for this information, yet the organizations responsible to disseminate these facts seem to have an agenda to keep us in the dark. This is especially true when it comes to our ancient human history.
Continue reading… “Why are we being kept in the dark about the discovery of Noah’s Ark?”
Why do scientists have no faith in science?
Those who claim that science and religion are compatible tend to argue that science, like religion, rests on faith: faith in the accuracy of what we observe, in the laws of nature, or in the value of reason. Daniel Sarewitz, director of a science policy center at Arizona State University and an occasional Slate contributor, wrote this about the Higgs boson in the pages ofNature, one of the world’s most prestigious science journals: “For those who cannot follow the mathematics, belief in the Higgs is an act of faith, not of rationality.”
Clergy members are at a higher risk of depression.
Using phone surveys and written questionnaires, researchers from the Clergy Health Initiative at Duke Divinity School decided to look into the mental health of members of the clergy. They interviewed over 1,700 United Methodist pastors, and found that depression is about 1.6 times higher in that group compared to the general population (8.7% versus 5.5%).
Continue reading… “There is more depression among clergy than the general population: Study”
Forty-eight percent of Americans say the growing number of “people who are not religious” is bad for American society. But a similar share say either that this trend is good or that it does not make much difference, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.
Continue reading… “Almost half of U.S. adults say growth of nonreligious bad for American society”
The U.S. loves religion and spirituality.
A German non-profit, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, researches, publishes, and “stimulates debate” on a variety of societal issues. They just released the results of their 2013 Religion Monitor in which they analyzed responses to a 100-question survey regarding religion/politics completed by 14,000 individuals in 13 countries.
Continue reading… “50% of Americans find Atheism ‘threatening’: Survey”
The survey represents some of the lowest ratings Americans have given to religious influence in the U.S. in 40 years.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans believe that religion’s influence in the nation is waning, yet also think society would be better off if more Americans were religious, according to a new survey.
Leading scientists employ science itself in arguments for believing in a kind of supernatural.
Science and religion has had a relationship that has always been vexed. Most scientists are nonbelievers, convinced that there is no deity, or at least that there is no convincing evidence of one. Even those who are believers, like Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, see their religion and their science as largely separate. (“If God is outside of nature, then science can neither prove nor disprove his existence,” he once wrote.)
Continue reading… “Can scientific breakthroughs lead to faith?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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