顶尖自然科学家几乎全都不信神
2012-07-22 10:46阅读：
我认为科学是良知，而顶尖科学家对信仰的看法是绝对值得我们学习。下面是
一篇很好的文章，是美国学术性极高的科学杂志《自然》上登的，请大家用心读读和用心去理解，不要导人信迷，误人子弟。重要的字我加亮。
顶尖科学家不信神
自本世纪初以来，人们就一直在争辩
美国科学家的宗教信仰问题。我们最新的调查发现，
在顶尖自然科学家中，不信神的比例比以前都多－－几乎全都不信神。
最早研究这个课题的是美国著名
心理学家詹穆斯·H·路巴 (James H.
Leuba)，他在1914年做了
里程碑式的调查。他发现，在1000名随机选择的美国科学家中，有58％表示不相信或怀疑神的存在，在400名“大”科
学家中，这个数字上升到了接近70％。20年后，路巴用有些不同的方式重复了调查，发现这两个数字分别上升到了67％和85％。
在
1996年，我们重复了路巴在1914年的调查，并向《自然》报告了我们的结果。我们发现，在1914年以来，美国科学家一般地没有多少变化，有
60.7％表示不信或怀疑神的存在。今年（1998），我们很接近地模拟了路巴在1914年第二阶段的调查，调查那些“大”科学家的信仰，
发现信神的比例
是前所未有的低－－只有大约7％。
路巴把
“大”科学家不信神或疑神的比例高的原因，归于他们具有“超级知识、理解和经验”。类似的，
牛津大学科学家彼特·阿金斯(Peter Atkins)在评论我们1996的调查时说，“
你很显然能够是一个科学家，并具有宗教信仰。但是由于科学和宗教的知识范畴是如此不合，我
不认为在更深刻
的意义上，你能够是一个真正的科学家。”这样的评论导致我们重复了路巴第二阶段的研究，对“大”和“小”科学家的宗教信仰做最新的比较。
我们所选取的“大”科学家群体是
美国科学院的成员。我们的调查发现，科学院的自然科学家几乎一致地否认超验事物的存在。不信神和不信永生的比例，在科学
院生物学家中分别为65.2％和69.0％，在科学院物理学家中分别是79.0％和76.3％。剩下的人当中，大部分对这两个问题都持怀疑态度，很少有相
信的。我们发现，科学院的数学家具有最高的信仰比例（14.3％信神，15.0％信永生）。
生物学家具有最低的信仰比例（5.5％信神，7.1％信永
生），
物理学家和天文学家则稍微多了一些（7.5％信神，7.5％信永生）。
Table 1Comparison of
survey answers among 'greater' s
重复路巴的方法有些困难。对一般的调查，他从标准工具书
《美国科学界人士》（AMS）中随机地抽取科学家名单。我们用了这部书的现有版本。在路巴的时候，AMS的编者在词条中标示出“大科学家”，路巴就据此鉴
定他的“大”科学家。AMS不再有这样的标示了，所以我们就把科学院的成员做为我们的“大”科学家，在早期的AMS，这个身份也是“大科学家”的标志。我
们的方法要比路巴的方法产生了一个更杰出的样本，这或许可以解释在我们的被调查者中存在着极低的信仰比例（如果前面引述的路巴和阿金斯的评论是正确的
话）。
在1914年的调查中，路巴把他那简略的问卷邮寄给了随机抽选出来的400名AMS的“大科学家”。它询问被调查者是否相信
“一个能与人类进行智能和有感情的沟通的上帝”和“个体的永生”。对每一个问题，被调查者可以选择回答确信、不信或怀疑。我们的调查包括了完全相同的问
题，也要求匿名答复。
路巴把1914年的问卷送给了400名“生物和物理科学学家”，后者除了物理学家和天文学家，还包括数学家。由
于科学院成员的人数相对较小，我们把我们的问卷送给了这些核心学科的全部517名科学院成员。在1914年，路巴收回了大约70％的答卷，在1933年则
超过75％，而我们在1996年的调查收回了60％，对科学院成员的调查则收回了稍多于50％。
正当我们整理调查结果的时候，科学院
发行了一本小册子，鼓励在公共学校教授在美国科学界和某些保守的基督徒之间一直存在冲突的进化论。这本小册子想让读者确信，“科学对上帝是否存在的问题持
中立立场”。科学院院长布鲁斯·阿尔伯兹(Bruce
Alberts)说：“
有许多非常杰出的科学院成员有着非常虔诚的宗教信仰，同时也相信进化论，他们中的许多人是生物学家。”
但我们的调查结果却与他说的相反。
Leading scientists still reject God
原文地址（须注册）：
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v394/n6691/full/394313a0.html
Leading scientists still reject God
Nature, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313 (1998) © Macmillan Publishers
Ltd.
Sir — The question of religious belief among US scientists has been
debated since early in the century. Our latest survey finds that,
among the top natural scientists, disbelief is greater than ever —
almost total.
Research on this topic began with the eminent US psychologist James
H. Leuba and his landmark survey of 1914. He found that 58% of
1,000 randomly selected US scientists expressed disbelief or doubt
in the existence of God, and that this figure rose to near 70%
among the 400 'greater' scientists within his sample [1]. Leuba
repeated his survey in somewhat different form. 20 years later, and
found that these percentages had increased to 67 and 85,
respectively [2].
In 1996, we repeated Leuba's 1914 survey and reported our results
in Nature [3]. We found little change from 1914 for American
scientists generally, with 60.7% expressing disbelief or doubt.
This year, we closely imitated the second phase of Leuba's 1914
survey to gauge belief among 'greater' scientists, and find the
rate of belief lower than ever — a mere 7% of respondents.
Leuba attributed the higher level of disbelief and doubt among
'greater' scientists to their 'superior knowledge, understanding,
and experience' [3]. Similarly, Oxford University scientist Peter
Atkins commented on our 1996 survey, 'You clearly can be a
scientist and have religious beliefs. But I don't think you can be
a real scientist in the deepest sense of the word because they are
such alien categories of knowledge.' [4] Such comments led us to
repeat the second phase of Leuba's study for an up-to-date
comparison of the religious beliefs of 'greater' and 'lesser'
scientists.
Our chosen group of 'greater' scientists were members of the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Our survey found near universal
rejection of the transcendent by NAS natural scientists. Disbelief
in God and immortality among NAS biological scientists was 65.2%
and 69.0%, respectively, and among NAS physical scientists it was
79.0% and 76.3%. Most of the rest were agnostics on both issues,
with few believers. We found the highest percentage of belief among
NAS mathematicians (14.3% in God, 15.0% in immortality). Biological
scientists had the lowest rate of belief (5.5% in God, 7.1% in
immortality), with physicists and astronomers slightly higher (7.5%
in God, 7.5% in immortality). Overall comparison figures for the
1914, 1933 and 1998 surveys appear in Table 1.
Table 1 Comparison of survey answers among 'greater' scientists
Belief in personal God 1914 1933 1998
Personal belief
27.7
15
7.0
Personal disbelief
52.7
68
72.2
Doubt or agnosticism
20.9
17
20.8
Belief in human immortality
1914 1933 1998
Personal belief
35.2
18
7.9
Personal disbelief
25.4
53
76.7
Doubt or agnosticism
43.7
29
23.3
Figures are percentages.
Repeating Leuba's methods presented challenges. For his general
surveys, he randomly polled scientists listed in the standard
reference work, American Men of Science (AMS). We used the current
edition. In Leuba's day, AMS editors designated the 'great
scientists' among their entries, and Leuba used these to identify
his 'greater' scientists [1,2]. The AMS no longer makes these
designations, so we chose as our 'greater' scientists members of
the NAS, a status that once assured designation as 'great
scientists' in the early AMS. Our method surely generated a more
elite sample than Leuba's method, which (if the quoted comments by
Leuba and Atkins are correct) may explain the extremely low level
of belief among our respondents.
For the 1914 survey, Leuba mailed his brief questionnaire to a
random sample of 400 AMS 'great scientists'. It asked about the
respondent's belief in 'a God in intellectual and affective
communication with humankind' and in 'personal immortality'.
Respondents had the options of affirming belief, disbelief or
agnosticism on each question [1]. Our survey contained precisely
the same questions and also asked for anonymous responses.
Leuba sent the 1914 survey to 400 'biological and physical
scientists', with the latter group including mathematicians as well
as physicists and astronomers [1]. Because of the relatively small
size of NAS membership, we sent our survey to all 517 NAS members
in those core disciplines. Leuba obtained a return rate of about
70% in 1914 and more than 75% in 1933 whereas our returns stood at
about 60% for the 1996 survey and slightly over 50% from NAS
members [1,2].
As we compiled our findings, the NAS issued a booklet encouraging
the teaching of evolution in public schools, an ongoing source of
friction between the scientific community and some conservative
Christians in the United States. The booklet assures readers,
'Whether God exists or not is a question about which science is
neutral'[5]. NAS president Bruce Alberts said: 'There are many very
outstanding members of this academy who are very religious people,
people who believe in evolution, many of them biologists.' Our
survey suggests otherwise.
Edward J. Larson
Department of History, University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia 30602-6012, USA
e-mail:edlarson@uga.edu
Larry Witham
3816 Lansdale Court, Burtonsville,
Maryland 20866, USA
