Education does not cause atheism.

[Deamiter]

I just got an interesting email from the ASA newsletter that cited an article where researchers surveyed faculty of major universities investigating their religion. The article suggests that by far the strongest predictor of theism among scientific faculty is a theistic family (i.e. childhood religion). This shows that scientists are not losing their faith in education but that non-theists are much more likely to choose science as a profession.

http://www.physorg.com/news102700045.html

I suggest that given the 10-15 year commitment necessary to become full faculty at a reputable university many Christians have other priorities and simply don't see it as worth their lives whereas non-theists have fewer demands on their life's meaning and are thus likely to choose whatever they think could have the most impact on society.

The study certainly suggests that conspiratorial reports of education deconverting young scientists is unfounded and that it is simply a lack of Christians going into science that results in the low number of Christians who are scientists. Further, the report finds that young faculty are more likely to believe in God than older faculty suggesting that there is a subtle shift in the amount of theism among professors in America.

 

[Atlantians]

I agree.
I have always found that view suspicious.

 

[Mallon]

I was going to post this earlier, but Deamiter beat me to the point!
It's a very interesting article, indeed. Be sure to keep it handy every time you're accused of being "brainwashed" by a "secular university"!

 

[arunma]

I'm a Christian and a scientist (graduate student in astrophysics). Obviously I don't think that science is intriniscally atheistic. I do want to say, though, that in my experience there most certainly is an atheistic bias in the culture of the scientific community. During my first couple of years as a college student I didn't think that this was the case, but now I do. Scientists usually appear to separate their religious belief (or lack thereof in most cases) from their work. But people will often make casual comments that express disbelief in God, and often times they can be outright blasphemous. If, however, people know that you are religious, they look at you as though you were strange.

When I say "religious," I'm talking about genuine religiosity rather than mere intellectual assent to belief in a creator deity. There are plenty of Sunday Christians in science, and many more who will tell you "I was raised <Insert Denomination Name>, but I don't really go to church that much." These types of Christians, whose Christianity is nothing more than a cultural label, are welcomed into the culture of science. Also bear in mind that I'm not referring to creationism or intelligent design, two pseudosciences that rightly are rejected.

As the study in the OP confirms, I've found that exceedingly few scientists who genuinely make Jesus Christ the center of their lives. Again, science isn't intrinsically atheistic, but scientists themselves are strongly disinclined to anyone or anything that smacks of religiosity. Recently I've been asking myself: if a Christian who was still in college asked me if he should become a scientist, what would I tell him? I love science, but I'm really not sure that the culture of science is a good place for believers to develop their faith. And I must also think in eternal terms. It is faith that saves us from the eternal wrath of God, so it's not necessarily the best idea to throw a fellow believer to the wolves. Indeed, many of the most vile and depraved enemies of the cross find their refuge in science. On one hand, the OP seems to be suggesting that we need more Christians in science. After all, what better way is there to change the culture of science? However, I must also consider the potential for spiritual detriment that the culture in science has to offer. I'm glad I went into science, and I'd love to have more Christians accompany me. But I'm not really sure that this is the best idea.

 

[Deamiter]

As the study in the OP confirms, I've found that exceedingly few scientists who genuinely make Jesus Christ the center of their lives. Again, science isn't intrinsically atheistic, but scientists themselves are strongly disinclined to anyone or anything that smacks of religiosity. Recently I've been asking myself: if a Christian who was still in college asked me if he should become a scientist, what would I tell him? I love science, but I'm really not sure that the culture of science is a good place for believers to develop their faith. And I must also think in eternal terms. It is faith that saves us from the eternal wrath of God, so it's not necessarily the best idea to throw a fellow believer to the wolves. Indeed, many of the most vile and depraved enemies of the cross find their refuge in science. On one hand, the OP seems to be suggesting that we need more Christians in science. After all, what better way is there to change the culture of science? However, I must also consider the potential for spiritual detriment that the culture in science has to offer. I'm glad I went into science, and I'd love to have more Christians accompany me. But I'm not really sure that this is the best idea.

I rather disagree. I went to both a conservative Christian university and a secular university and I would question the commitment of any Christian (to Christianity) if they could not find fellowship within and outside of a secular academic environment.

We are called to fellowship with believers, but never to back away from a job simply because it is dominated by non-theists! We must find time to spend with believers, but your friend can choose to do this even while working in an academic setting. More significantly, your friend can choose to avoid deep fellowship even if he were working in a church!

I admit, I don't have experience at a ton of universities, but most I've inquired about have some sort of Christian group like Inter-Varsity in which students and faculty can fellowship. Yeah, one is likely to have their faith challenged in an academic setting, but without challenges to our faith we'll be stuck as baby Christians indefinitely -- not exactly where God wants us!

Edit: looking back, I realize that while you don't agree with the idea that a scientific career leads people to atheism, your caution in advising your friend is based on exactly that fear. Quite honestly, if after being trained to question and defend their assertions, a student cannot defend their belief in Christ to those that question the belief, they aren't going to be any more successful as a Christian away from academia. The sad fact is that most people aren't taught how to question and defend ideas and thus perceive any question of their personal set of beliefs as almost insulting. Once trained as a scientist, one should be even better prepared to defend and preach Christ. Simply staying away from science could potentially relieve a superficial Christian from ever having their faith challenged, but Christ never wanted a superficial Christian to begin with. As he said, the luke-warm 'Christians' are worse than those that don't believe! We need to support fellow struggling Christians, but if they are unwilling to engage and answer challenges to their faith for years on end, we should not try to baby them in the hope that they might get to heaven by pretending!

 

[crawfish]

John Clayton, a former atheist and science teacher who founded this organization (http://www.doesgodexist.org), tells a story of a student who had a particular aptitude for science. He asked the student if he was going to study science in college; the student said he'd like to, but he would not because "he was a Christian".

I think this view permeates our brotherhood. Science is viewed as an opponent to religion; a purely secular endeavor that precludes faith or belief. This is a tragedy; we NEED good, intelligent Christians to become honest scientists, working in an unbiased fashion to unlock the secrets of the universe. Look at the good Francis Collins is doing. If the major scientists are all atheist, then who will be qualified to dispute them when they claim their findings are contrary to the existence of God?

 

[Mallon]

In light of this study, it almost seems silly to think that higher education leads to atheism, as is traditionally thought. Given that there is a higher proportion of males in science, too, it would be like saying higher education causes women to become men.
I do still believe that college- and university-level education tends to lead Christians away from YECism, however. That much is documented well enough.