Question on the conflict between religion and education. (quote, punished, Christians)

[Lady Ice]

This is actually based on a real life incident but because I don't know all of the facts and am only guessing most of it, I will state it as a hypothetical situation for the background of this question.

A lecturer teaching cognition at a university sets an assessment task based on a real life study he has conducted himself. The task is to write a research report using data collected through a testing procedure that the class participated in. The students are given the data and have to build the rest of the report based on their knowledge of what the procedure was actually testing. For those who aren't aware, when writing a report the researcher has to build a case as to why their research is important or necessary, review previous research in the field, and show where their research fits in to the body of knowledge gathered thus far.

This particular study is about semantic priming of religious concepts, you don't need to know much about that but suffice it to say that the research takes a clinical look at the cognitive processes involved in religious thinking and can shed an uncomfortable (for some) light on religion. The lecturer specifically asks that students base their arguments ONLY on research that is empirically tested and peer reviewed. In other words he does not want any religious bias in the report and would frown on anything that took an apologist stance.

Some students have a problem with this and the lecturer's reputation is called into question with allegations of professional misconduct and even malicious intent. These are very serious allegations and it should be stated that most students found the lecturer to have provided an interesting and excellently delivered course and are shocked that anyone had cause for complaint against this lecturer.

So the question in my mind should be a no-brainer, but it appears to be a point of contention:

Should a student studying science at this level be failed in an assessment task if they are unable to put aside religious bias? Or do you think this is discrimination and a violation of religious freedom?

In my view scientific research should be completely without bias and those who are unable to put aside personal belief are not fit to conduct research because they are searching for confirmation rather than the truth. What do you think?

[NoCapo]

They should fail the assignment if they cannot put aside their bias. It is not unfair or unethical to ask students to investigate or research areas in which they may have religious or cultural biases.

When my wife and I were in college, we were both very devout, fundamentalist Christians and young earth creationists. It was not an issue for me, since evolution is not a big deal in the physics and sciences required for a computer engineering degree. My wife, however, was a geology student (She has a MS in Geology) and had to learn the material as presented, even though she disagreed with it. If she had written her papers, done her tests, and presented her thesis ignoring accepted science in the field of her choice simply because she had a religious objection, she would have failed every single class, and rightly so.

If this class was a freshman, intro to psych class that everyone had to take, maybe the professor could cut them a little slack and not make this a mandatory topic. If these students are seriously studying cognition and psychology, and cannot set aside their personal bias in favor of the empirical data, they have no business graduating with that degree, much less conducting research or practicing in a clinical setting.

NoCapo

[Lady Ice]

Originally Posted by NoCapo

They should fail the assignment if they cannot put aside their bias. It is not unfair or unethical to ask students to investigate or research areas in which they may have religious or cultural biases.

When my wife and I were in college, we were both very devout, fundamentalist Christians and young earth creationists. It was not an issue for me, since evolution is not a big deal in the physics and sciences required for a computer engineering degree. My wife, however, was a geology student (She has a MS in Geology) and had to learn the material as presented, even though she disagreed with it. If she had written her papers, done her tests, and presented her thesis ignoring accepted science in the field of her choice simply because she had a religious objection, she would have failed every single class, and rightly so.

If this class was a freshman, intro to psych class that everyone had to take, maybe the professor could cut them a little slack and not make this a mandatory topic. If these students are seriously studying cognition and psychology, and cannot set aside their personal bias in favor of the empirical data, they have no business graduating with that degree, much less conducting research or practicing in a clinical setting.

NoCapo

Thanks for your reply and yes, this is exactly what I thought. Cognition, although lightly touched on before, is a third year subject so by this stage students should know what is expected. I actually found that I had a kinder view of religion after this assignment so bias had to be put aside from both directions. I think the religious students really had difficulty with looking at religion in this way, with both it's positive and negative aspects laid out and studied so objectively. It's not surprising that some found it uncomfortable but slinging mud like this at a lecturer is shocking to me.

[baystater]

Originally Posted by Lady Ice

The lecturer specifically asks that students base their arguments ONLY on research that is empirically tested and peer reviewed.

These are standards I had when I had to write any science paper in college. Also the same standard applied in my studies in the field of healthcare.

The subject of semantic priming of religious concepts from my short research seems to fall into the study of psychology. So I think these standards can be applied to a research paper or report.


Really I don't see anything happening to this lecturer or professor from the allegations of professional misconduct. Unless there is something else going on that you haven't mentioned.



And yeah the students should fail.

[NoCapo]

Originally Posted by Lady Ice

It's not surprising that some found it uncomfortable ...

So as I said before, I was an engineering student. I didn't have to take any Psych classes, and very little in the way of humanities in general. Not enough time to squeeze in the technical courses, much less add general knowledge stuff.

So, over a decade later, I am finally learning stuff about these topics, and it is mind blowing. I am reading "Thinking: Slow and Fast" which covers a lot of cognition research from the 70's to the present. It is amazing, but very uncomfortable! Seeing how easily our minds can be shaped, such that even when we try our best to be logical and rational, we are still being subtly influenced by our environment, other people, and just everything in general. It is really humbling to have to reevaluate your own reason, and your own understanding of the choices you think you have made free of any outside influence. It doesn't surprise me that students are uncomfortable with it, but that doesn't let them off the hook.

NoCapo

[Lady Ice]

Originally Posted by baystater

These are standards I had when I had to write any science paper in college. Also the same standard applied in my studies in the field of healthcare.

The subject of semantic priming of religious concepts from my short research seems to fall into the study of psychology. So I think these standards can be applied to a research paper or report.


Really I don't see anything happening to this lecturer or professor unless there is something else going on that you haven't mentioned.

No, you are right. It is not likely that anything will happen to him but mud can stick and being publicly accused of malicious behaviour toward students can be damamging to his career. The thing is, these allegations were made anonymously and the way I found out about it was an open letter by the lecturer asking that those who had this problem take it to the university ombudsman and he will be happy to answer to it openly. As yet, I've heard nothing further but I was curious to see if anyone would support the actions of the religious students.

[WhipperSnapper 88]

Should a student studying science at this level be failed in an assessment task if they are unable to put aside religious bias? Or do you think this is discrimination and a violation of religious freedom?

This is a hot topic. Say a student was raised Christian, what are they to do when confronted with studies on evolution in school? Should they be punished for rejecting evolution? No is my answer. However, should they be punished for doing poorly in their studies on evolution? I dont see how anyone could have any other answer than yes. They arent being asked to accept evolutiion as truth, however, they are required to learn the material and do well on it whether they accept the validity and merit of it or not.

[Eresh]

It sounds like an interesting and worthy assignment, and I fully agree with NoCapo's response.
It never ceases to amaze me how angry some people get when they have to take a rational look at beliefs. I admit that I am assuming that the complainers themselves have strong religious beliefs and are experiencing some cognitive dissonance. I occasionally get similar objections from students when I ask them to only consider scientific evidence while in my biology class. (I couldn't care less what "evidence" they consider outside of my class.) I highly doubt anything will come of it. I also doubt any "mud will stick", since most people don't give anonymous complaints much credence and will likely brush it off as yet another entitled student who thinks s/he should be able to skate through college without having to develop and use critical thinking skills.

[Lady Ice]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper 88

This is a hot topic. Say a student was raised Christian, what are they to do when confronted with studies on evolution in school? Should they be punished for rejecting evolution? No is my answer. However, should they be punished for doing poorly in their studies on evolution? I dont see how anyone could have any other answer than yes. They arent being asked to accept evolutiion as truth, however, they are required to learn the material and do well on it whether they accept the validity and merit of it or not.

Absolutely, at least then they are in the position of being able to make an informed decision.

[GCSTroop]

Along the same lines as this, I've often wondered what would happen if one were to take a religious based course and turn in homework that always said "I don't believe in God; therefore I am excused from doing the homework." Basically, if we're to take a course where certain frames of thought are expected from us, we should not be shocked when we are asked to invest ourselves in that same frame of thought.

If I am to take a religious class, I have to entertain the conjecture that what is presented in the class is reality - even if it's not. No matter how painful it might be and regardless of whether my eyes get stuck in the back of my skull from rolling them so many times, I still have to entertain the conjecture of the course as reality.

Even in classes such as literature, we suspend reality and we acknowledge that the story we are reading is "real" in so much as what we are investigating and examining. We are able to do that because we are asked to do that so that we may properly deconstruct the story and examine the viewpoints of the author.

So, if a religious person takes a science class, they go into it knowing that they are supposed to examine the course material in a scientific manner. If their suspension of reality interferes with their ability to take the course, then it is the student who should fail - just as if they are unable to add or subtract in a math class. Universities should certainly not have to cater to the feelings of religious people simply because learning about how the universe works offends them.