What Best Debunks Religion: Studying Science Or the Humanities?

Science steadily but effectively acts as a corrosive to religion. That's why we must insist our students become more scientifically literate. But a recent study done by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research shows that what produces the most religious skepticism among college students is when they study the social sciences.

In other words, humanities and social sciences, much more than biological and mathematical sciences, challenge you to imagine the world though the eyes of others. And this exercise in imagination undercuts religious dogma far more effectively than any science lesson can.

What we learn is that

...both the Humanities and the Social Sciences see dramatic declines in attendance and even more in religious beliefs....I suspect that broadening world views is the major reason these students lose their faith.

The Univ. of Michigan study concludes: "Our results suggest that it is Postmodernism, not Science, that is the bête noir of religiosity."

Link. To see the news release see this, where we read:

College students who major in the social sciences and humanities are likely to become less religious, while those majoring in education are likely to become more religious.

But students majoring in biology and physical sciences remain just about as religious as they were when they started college.

HT: Ken Pulliam