Faith in science, implicit religion and antipathy to religions: a study among Christian and non-religious students

Francis, L.J., Astley, J., McKenna, U. and Stewart, F (2025) Faith in science, implicit religion and antipathy to religions: a study among Christian and non-religious students. British Journal of Religious Education. ISSN 0141-6200

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Abstract

Bailey’s notion of implicit religion is invoked to explore the conflict between science and religion in the adolescent mind. This conflict is reconceptualised in terms of the theologies of religion. On this account, belief in science (as implicit religion) when adopted as a fundamentalist or exclusive position excludes the validity of other religious belief-systems (in this case explicit religions). This thesis is tested by exploring the effect of an exaggerated, uncritical and unqualified belief in the inerrancy of science (styled ‘scientific fundamentalism’) on a hostile and unfriendly attitude towards conventional religions (styled ‘antipathy to religions’). Data were provided by a sample of 10,792 13- to 15-year-old students attending schools in the UK who had identified themselves as either religiously unaffiliated or as affiliated with the Christian tradition. After controlling for personal, psychological and religious factors, the data confirmed a significant positive association between scientific fundamentalism and antipathy to religions. The implications of these findings are discussed for the science education curriculum in schools, arguing that the conflict between science and religion (promoted by an exclusivist position in science) is as damaging for community cohesion as the conflict between different religions (promoted by an exclusivist position in religion).

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Published by Taylor & Francis in 2025. This is an author accepted manuscript of a published open access article available at https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2025.2487999. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
Keywords:	implicit religion theology of religions science and religion scientism
Depositing User:	Ursula Mckenna
Date Deposited:	08 May 2025 09:50
Last Modified:	08 May 2025 09:50
URI:	https://bgro.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/1235

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