Posts Tagged ‘Pew’
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”*…
Over the centuries, the relationship between science and religion has ranged from conflict and hostility to harmony and collaboration, while various thinkers have argued that the two concepts are inherently at odds and entirely separate.
But much recent research and discussion on these issues has taken place in a Western context, primarily through a Christian lens. To better understand the ways in which science relates to religion around the world, Pew Research Center engaged a small group of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists to talk about their perspectives. These one-on-one, in-depth interviews took place in Malaysia and Singapore – two Southeast Asian nations that have made sizable investments in scientific research and development in recent years and that are home to religiously diverse populations.
The discussions reinforced the conclusion that there is no single, universally held view of the relationship between science and religion, but they also identified some common patterns and themes within each of the three religious groups…
Pew Research paints three distinct portraits: “On the Intersection of Science and Religion.”
* Albert Einstein (who may or may not have meant to communicate his religiosity and his belief in the compatibility—indeed, the mutual interdependence—of science and religion)
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As we contemplate the cosmic, we might spare a thought for Lillian Wald; she died on this date in 1940. A nurse, nurse, humanitarian, political reformer, and author, she was instrumental in establishing a nationwide system of nurses in public schools. Known as “the Angel of Henry Street” (for her founding and running of the Henry Street Settlement in New York City), she directed the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service, while at the same time tirelessly opposing political and social corruption. She helped initiate revision of child labor laws, improved housing conditions in tenement districts, enactment of pure food laws, education for the mentally handicapped, and passage of enlightened immigration regulations.
“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists”*…
U.S. migration patterns changed plenty from 1850 to 2013. A nifty interactive map, created by the Pew Research Center, visualizes these shifts by showing the origin of the dominant immigrant group in each state for every decade during this time period.
The map is a part of a comprehensive report on past and future immigration trends, the main point of which is to highlight the impact of the Immigration Act of 1965. But the map reveals the events, policies, and trends before and after 1965 that shaped the waves of U.S. immigration…
More– the history of U.S. immigration and an account Pew’s take on its future– here; play with the interactive map here.
* Franklin D. Roosevelt
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As we go with the flow, we might recall that it was on this date in 1957 that television viewers in the U.S. met the quintessential… er, fantastical American family, the Cleavers: Leave It To Beaver premiered (on CBS).
Ward, Wally, June, and Theodore “The Beaver” Cleaver
“The rules of morality are not the conclusion of our reason”*…
The Pew Research Center’s 2013 Global Attitudes survey asked 40,117 respondents in 40 countries what they thought about eight topics often discussed as moral issues: extramarital affairs, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, premarital sex, alcohol consumption, divorce, and the use of contraceptives. For each issue, respondents were asked whether the behavior is morally acceptable, morally unacceptable, or not a moral issue.
Explore the results (and see larger versions of charts like the one above) here.
* David Hume
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As we struggle to take the high ground, we might that it was on this date in 1881 that Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons founded the American National Red Cross, to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters. Barton, who’d famously done medical relief work during the American Civil War, had later gone to Europe to provide aid during the Franco-Prussian War, and had encountered the European Red Cross. On returning, and with the help of Solomons, she started the American branch of the organization. The group was quickly called into action, first in response to the Great Fire of 1881 in the Thumb region of Michigan, which occurred 1n September of 1881, as a result of which over 5,000 people were left homeless. The second major call on te Red Cross was the Johnstown Flood which occurred at the end of May, 1889. Over 2,209 people died and thousands more were injured in or near Johnstown, Pennsylvania in one of the worst disasters in U.S. history.
The Red Cross set up in a community hard hit by tornadoes, Florida, 2007
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