Do I just have wrong impression or it's true?

[Catsmeow]

On 2/10/2017 at 2:35 PM, LPTSTR said:

Hi!

Do I just have false impression or am I right? To me personally it looks like the percentage of people with at least bachelors degree in sciences is much lower among christians than in non-christians. By sciences I mean physics, chemistry, computers (and related), maths, engineering, etc. I have noticed from 100 christians (who are at student age) I know from my hometown churches there is roughly 3 - 4 people who have bachelors or higher in sciences. However it seems that when I would take randomly 100 students from university then the percentage of of sciences would be much higher. The Christans (not that much but still) seem to end their education with high school or when they go to university/college they would study something soft such as arts, languages, psychology, hairdressing, class teacher (for basic school/kindergarten), etc. I dont come from Christian family/background so I thought I would ask here if it only looks so or if it's really so. And if it is so then what could be behind it?

Lpstr, I got my Bachelors in Science in Business with a chemistry major; I switched from bio chem as my primary because jobs for chemists were few and far between at that time. I did work for a firm in the field of organic chemistry as a lab technician working with highly carcinogenic materials and chose to leave.

I majored in business administration and worked as a stockbroker, facilitating stock and option trades for a major bank. I left the field to go back into college and rec'd my master's degree in Special Education. The field is different from a regular education degree. Special education at the master's level involves considerable work with the DSM V (at that time it was the DSM IV) and a substantial amount of medical training. My first job with a MS Ed. license was in a special facility was at a school for the blind. 

In my BS program I was an atheist. In my graduate program I was still an atheist but towards the end of my graduate program I'd become a Christian. In both graduate and undergraduate programs I graduated Magna Cum Laude -- so you're point is... ?

[Catsmeow]

Just now, eileenhat said:

Science degree.

 

ps: (you could take a survey).

I'd like to see a comparative survey on suicides and depression between atheists vs Christians or how many atheists gamble their paychecks in Vegas, betting on Lady Luck on the roll of the dice.

[walla299]

5 hours ago, JTC said:

Really??? I hope you're exaggerating. Because I almost had a PhD in psychology but I would have never accepted evolution as anything more than a theory. Maybe that's why God didn't let me get the PhD. I would have had a minor nervous breakdown.   

He's not joking at all. I worked at a University in my area for years and got to know a few believers there, some who were published scientists a couple are well known for their work. I heard this from everyone from lab techs to professors: you either "tow the party line" (i.e. Darwinic Evolution, Climate Change, etc.) or your work will not get grants and other funding approved, you will not get published, and will be essentially pushed out of your chosen career in disgrace. Why disgrace? Because the ultimate disgrace for the folks at higher levels is not getting published in peer reviewed journals. No funding = no research, which means nothing to publish. One lady told me, "If the wrong person even thinks you might believe in anything but Evolution, you'll find your career at a sudden end." Yes, it is just that brutal.

[missmuffet]

36 minutes ago, Yowm said:

Good. So he does not believe in the Big Bang theory.

He is dead.

[missmuffet]

3 minutes ago, Yowm said:

Very sorry to hear that, especially if he died as an atheist.

You've got that right.

[Pie]

On 2/10/2017 at 3:35 PM, LPTSTR said:

Hi!

Do I just have false impression or am I right? To me personally it looks like the percentage of people with at least bachelors degree in sciences is much lower among christians than in non-christians. By sciences I mean physics, chemistry, computers (and related), maths, engineering, etc. I have noticed from 100 christians (who are at student age) I know from my hometown churches there is roughly 3 - 4 people who have bachelors or higher in sciences. However it seems that when I would take randomly 100 students from university then the percentage of of sciences would be much higher. The Christans (not that much but still) seem to end their education with high school or when they go to university/college they would study something soft such as arts, languages, psychology, hairdressing, class teacher (for basic school/kindergarten), etc. I dont come from Christian family/background so I thought I would ask here if it only looks so or if it's really so. And if it is so then what could be behind it?

 

 

 

 

Your sample size is really small. It's easy to make generalizations based on our own experiences. I think this is going to vary greatly depending on the church you go to, your location, etc. My first degree is a B.S. in Biology. I've met Christians in the workplace with science and engineering degrees. However, at the company I was at, we were the minority. I went to one church where the pastor was also a theology professor at a university. That church had a lot more students involved. That same pastor also mentioned in his sermon how the churches today have not made scientists feel very welcome with some of our attitudes towards it.

I can only speculate why some Christians may not choose the sciences. My best guess is what that pastor mentioned... that some churches are very hostile to science. I still experience this from time to time. Just as a scientist would not be accepted by their peers for rejecting evolution or accepting a Young Earth View. Christians are often not accepted by their peers for rejecting Young Earth Creationism and accepting theistic evolution or Old Earth Creationism. When I'm at church, I keep the fact I believe the universe is billions of years old to myself. I don't know where I stand on evolution.  

Still, things like Mechanical Engineering do not stress very heavily on topics like evolution, more on physics, so Christians put off by that could easily go into those fields. It's really hard to judge why a person chooses the path they choose. There are so many factors at play. Even if you look up statistics, finding reliable ones can be difficult. Remember correlation does not prove causation. 

Regardless, while higher education is not necessary, it would be nice to get more Christians involved in these fields. Why? Because theses people Engineers/Lawyers/Doctors/Scientists have a lot of influence over our society. (So do Philosophers btw). And if we take Christians out of the equation because we are taught to fear these things, then our culture is at risk of becoming even more and more secular. As that happens, it gets harder and harder to spread the gospel.  We need Christians in these fields too. 

Edited February 13, 2017 by Pie

[Catsmeow]

3 hours ago, Yowm said:

Good. So he does not believe in the Big Bang theory.

That answer was EPIC! .... sweet ( ahhhh.... )

[FresnoJoe]

3 hours ago, Yowm said:

My stepfather who is an atheist, now 92  yrs. old, is feeling the pinch but still clings to his umbrella...

~

Praying~!

[FresnoJoe]

11 hours ago, missmuffet said:

My brother was a scientist. And an atheist. He said he could not believe in something he could not see.

 

4 hours ago, Yowm said:

Good. So he does not believe in the Big Bang theory.

   

[Guest Thallasa]

18 hours ago, JTC said:

I don't think the world is going to destroy itself, at least not unless the crazy radical Muslims get their way. And I don't think we're going to let them. I don't think God wants the end of the age of man to happen yet. IMO God is big on giving man more chances to repent. I think He's going to do this again. 

I do not agree with you that Islam is the greatest danger .