Posted: July 26th 2010
George Locke
The answer is so obviously “No” as to suggest that the thing you’re really getting at has been left unsaid. Science is an activity, and atheism is a (lack of) belief, so how could the be identical?
I suspect that atheists make up a minority of scientists. The scientific method is incompatible with faith (in the sense of “conviction of things not seen”), but religious scientists, like most religious people, apply different standards when judging religious propositions and propositions about the waking world.
Posted: July 28th 2010
Paula Kirby www
No.
Science is a method of finding out what it true about the world, based on the collection and testing of evidence.
Atheism is the lack of belief in gods.
Not all scientists are atheists, not all atheists have any understanding of science.
Since some scientists are also religious, clearly it is possible to be both – the human brain is rather good at compartmentalising. However, to be religious requires the acceptance of certain statements purely on faith; and this is deeply incompatible with the methods and principles of science, where nothing can be accepted as true without testable evidence. Scientists who are religious are therefore not being consistent in their approach.
Posted: July 28th 2010
SmartLX www
No, because there are religious scientists.
Science is a method for discovering things about the universe. Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. There isn’t much of a conceptual connection between the two, really.
It just happens that firstly, atheists tend to use science to find things out because they don’t think a god is about to reveal anything, and secondly, atheists often defend science against those who attempt to dismiss or undermine it because the reasons for doing so are often exclusively and transparently religious.
Posted: July 28th 2010
logicel
Accepting that the scientific method is the only way to amass valid information, atheism is the logical result of embracing the scientific method as is rejection of alternative medicine, psychics, and Sasquatch.
Posted: July 28th 2010