[Article.Atheism] Why atheist scientists are the best possible candidates/people on the topic of analyzing and thereafter disregarding religion

Using a bit of common sense, one may see that modern scientists especially atheistic scientists, are appropriate experts/authorities on disregarding religion:

1) The entire enterprise of modern science is concerned with analyzing the truth value of models, including religious models.

2) Obviously, mankind had not always had modern science; notably, ‘archaic science/religion’ was replaced by modern science in the scientific revolution, and thereafter, ‘archaic science/religion’ no longer applies. (See an example of ‘astrology/archaic science/religion’ being removed from ‘modern science/astronomy’, in Wikipedia/Astrology and astronomy )

3) Modern scientists are mostly atheists, with 92.8% being atheistic in western hemisphere, and overall, there’s a higher ratio of atheists to theists in the scientific community, compared to the general public. (See Wikipedia demographic of atheism/geographic distribution)

4) Atheistic scientists are actually experts on the topic of disregarding religion, and reasonably rightfully more so that early scientists who were mostly theists, because modern science disregards early theistic endeavours, including those had by early theist scientists such as Isaac Newton. (Refer to the example given in (2) where ‘astrology/archaic science/religion’ being removed from ‘modern science/astronomy’, in Wikipedia/Astrology and astronomy or the reality that Alchemy no longer exists in modern science, instead distantly replaced by Chemistry. See Wikipedia/alchemy)

5) That said, rather than not being experts/authorities in the scope of disregarding religion as many theists like to claim, atheistic scientists, are likely the very best experts available to do such a task, as afforded by modern science, which is designed to analyse the truth value of models, religious ones not exempt from said scientific scrutiny.

6) Notably, as Wikipedia/atheism reports, atheism is strongly coupled with the removal of theistic models or religious endeavour, from the modern scientific regime in the scientific revolution. (I gave an earlier example where ‘astrology/archaic science/religion’ was removed from ‘modern science/astronomy’, in Wikipedia/Astrology and astronomy)

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Conclusion, and why it is not shocking that early scientists like Newton were theists:

1) Mankind didn’t always have modern science, so it is perhaps not so shocking that most people, including some of the smartest people back then, literally didn’t have the tools to properly disregard religion, and not surprisingly, most people including scientists were theists.

2) The above doesn’t disregard that nowadays, especially with modern tools afforded by modern science, modern atheist scientists are appropriate experts/authorities on the topic of analyzing the truth value of religion, and thereafter disregarding religion; modern science quite literally non-trivially arose from the removal of theistic endeavour, or atheistic movements in the age of enlightenment or scientific revolution. (See Wikipedia/atheism, or see Wikipedia/Astrology and astronomy to see an example of ‘astrology/religion/archaic science’ being purged from ‘modern science/astronomy’.)

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Author:

I am an atheist, casual body builder, and software engineer.