18AR23-04

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AR 23:4 - Who inspires today's social-justice warriors?

In this issue:

INTERSECTIONALITY - the inspiration behind many of today's social-justice warriors

ISLAM - an ominous Pew Research update on the growing Muslim population in Europe

+ similarities between ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood

+ "Charting the Rift Between Islamist Extremism and Mainstream Islam"

SCIENCE - "an ingenious pop-science account of how we deal with mortality"

+ "what religious Americans really understand and think about science"

Apologia Report 23:4 (1,370)
February 7, 2018

INTERSECTIONALITY
"Lorde of the Flies: Why College Students Reject Reason" by Jillian Kay Melchior -- profiles Audre Lorde, "the poet who championed subjectivity and what is now called 'intersectionality.' ...

"Lorde, who died in 1992, has posthumously become the ultimate insider on American campuses, providing an ideological foundation for today's social-justice warriors." Melchior goes so far as to say that "It's hard to overstate Lorde's influence" and "higher education is obsessed with 'intersectionality'" a theory which "supposes that different forms of discrimination act together to compound oppression."

"Lorde, who was black and lesbian, claimed to write from the perspective of 'those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference - those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older.' She described America as 'a country where racism, sexism and homophobia are inseparable.'"

In Melchoir's conclusion, she adds that for Lorde's followers: "Skepticism or demands for evidence are not only a personal affront but an example of the oppressive system at work.

"Earlier this year, this newspaper examined test scores and discovered that at more than 100 American colleges, at least one-third of seniors were incapable of making an argument or weighing evidence, among other tasks of critical thinking. Lorde's influence would seem to match her popularity." Wall Street Journal, Dec 9 '17 <www.goo.gl/rc9X7F>

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ISLAM

A Pew Research Center report released in November, "5 facts about the Muslim population in Europe," discusses how Muslim refugees are demographically transforming Europe. For openers, we read that "in the coming decades, the Muslim share of the continent's population is expected to grow – and could more than double...."

The five key facts, in summary:

1) "France and Germany have the largest Muslim populations in Europe (defined as the 28 current European Union member countries plus Norway and Switzerland)"

2) "The Muslim share of Europe's total population has been increasing steadily and will continue to grow in the coming decades"

3) "Muslims are much younger and have more children than other Europeans"

4) "Between mid-2010 and mid-2016, migration was the biggest factor driving the growth of Muslim populations in Europe"

5) "Views of Muslims vary widely across European countries"

Includes brief discussion and infographics. <www.goo.gl/HJtgDx>

For discussion see <www.goo.gl/zg5Zaw>

"ISIS, Brotherhood Have Much in Common: Tony Blair Study" by Meira Svirsky, Dec 6 '17 -- finds: "The similarity in philosophy between the Muslim Brotherhood and violent Islamists such as ISIS and al-Qaeda is quite pronounced, according to a new study carried out in the UK. 'The evidence now shows that there is considerable ideological overlap in how Islamic scripture is used by [political] Islamists, like the Muslim Brotherhood, and violent jihadists, such as ISIS and Al Qaeda,' said Dr Emman El-Badawy, head of research at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. The institute's new study, 'Struggle Over Scripture: Charting the Rift Between Islamist Extremism and Mainstream Islam,' <www.goo.gl/en1am6> was based on an examination of more than 3,000 documents culled from extremist and mainstream sources." The report finds that:

* - "Political Islamism is considerably more ideologically aligned with violent extremism than it is with the religious mainstream, across its use of scripture, scholarship, and content.

* - "Salafi-jihadi ideology is demonstrably distant from mainstream Islam. Only 8 per cent of the 50 most quoted Quranic verses in Salafi-jihadi material were prevalent in mainstream texts.

* - "Religious counter-narratives are currently failing to tackle the key arguments peddled by extremists, taking on only 16 per cent of the scriptural references prominently used by Salafi-jihadis.

* - Islamist interpretations of scripture are completely at odds with mainstream Islamic readings. Central tenets, such as fasting, prayers, and preaching, are relegated in extremist texts in favour of violent jihad and the caliphate" <www.goo.gl/RxTuU2>

An accompanying video clip discusses "why the Brotherhood should be designated as a terror organization." <www.goo.gl/Qdmvn1>

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SCIENCE

The humanistic championing of science continues to reach new heights. The publisher of Michael Shermer's latest book, Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia [1], describes it as "A scientific exploration into humanity's obsession with the afterlife and quest for immortality.... Shermer considers how realistic these attempts are from a proper skeptical perspective. Heavens on Earth concludes with an uplifting paean to purpose and progress and how we can live well in the here-and-now, whether or not there is a hereafter."

Kirkus (Oct 15 '17) tells us that Skeptic magazine publisher and Scientific American columnist Shermer says "More than 100 billion people have died over the past 80,000 years; none have returned to life, and near-death experiences don't qualify. In one of many no-brainers that fill the book, Shermer points out that anyone near death is, by definition, not dead. Another crowd pleaser, reincarnation, becomes a stretch if 10s of billions of wandering souls try to cram themselves into the 7.5 billion bodies currently alive. Since deeply held beliefs are often immune to evidence, the author's blend of common sense, neuroscience, experimental findings, and history will attract few readers expecting a strong argument for the existence of an afterlife. This is a pity because Shermer proceeds to less controversial subjects. Vast life extension violates no natural law, so it may eventually happen. ... Finally, the author delivers a moving essay on the meaning of life. Not a polemic but an ingenious popular-science account of how we deal with mortality."

Then there is Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think, by Elaine Ecklund and Christopher Scheitle [2]. Its publisher explains that "Ecklund and Scheitle interrogate the widespread myths that religious people dislike science and scientists and deny scientific theories. Religion vs. Science is a definitive statement on a timely, popular subject. ... Ecklund and Scheitle give readers a facts-on-the-ground, empirical look at what religious Americans really understand and think about science."

Publishers Weekly (Oct 9 '17) reports that "Each chapter begins with a common myth about believers that Ecklund and Scheitle seek to debunk (such as "Religious People Are All Young-Earth Creationists"), followed by their findings in the area and the lessons they feel scientists can learn. Readers may be surprised how inconsistent beliefs are across religious traditions and social issues; for instance, evangelical Christians are not necessarily climate change deniers. Ecklund and Scheitle propose a number of approaches to bridging the gap between progressive scientific thinking and traditional faith-based communities, including bringing science into religious communities and emphasizing the essential philosophical similarities between a scientific and a religious approach to, for example, climate change. They also stress the need for more basic dialogue between the two communities. Readers interested in knowing 'how the other half thinks' and who enjoy an elegant discussion of statistical data analysis will appreciates this volume." The conclusion: "... though there may be more common ground between most religious believers and scientists than they originally thought, hardcore evangelicals are essentially unreachable."

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Heavens on Earth: The Scientific Search for the Afterlife, Immortality, and Utopia, by Michael Shermer (Henry Holt, 2018, hardcover, 320 pages) <www.https://goo.gl/qnbptp>

2 - Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think, by Elaine Ecklund and Christopher Scheitle (Oxford Univ Prs, 2017, hardcover:, 240 pages) <www.goo.gl/ZfjnJj>

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