Atheist Scientists and Religious Traditions

I've come across Elaine Howard Ecklund previously and can say I'm not impressed. She comes across as a pleasant enough person but she really does not know much about one of her favored topics, Atheist Scientists.

It will probably takes some time to get a copy of her latest work (with Kristen Schultz Lee) in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , "Atheists and Agnostics Negotiate Religion and Family." I can get it free through a library database if I were willing to wait a year (publisher has a 12 month "embargo"), which I'm not. I will find a copy.

In the mean time the brief review I have read leads me to think it is probably as sloppy as her previous work.  There are a number of things implied in Physorg.com's piece on her latest article that don't add up. The title itself has implications that I'd be shocked to find were accurate to the answers given by the scientists Ecklund and Lee interviewed. The statement that scientists "embrace religious traditions" does not seem to be supported even by what little is described. It sounds more like these individuals feel pressured by the prevailing culture to participate. That is not the same as embracing something. I also want to see their specific responses since I find it hard to believe any atheist let alone a scientist would view religion as a "source of knowledge." I can see them commenting on it being a source of tradition, sense of community, or comfort.

There is also an interesting embedded video clip that reveals her own ignorance and bias when it comes to atheists. She seems to be genuinely shocked that atheist scientist are not "against religious people."  I have never come across any atheists that are against religious people. Many of us may be opposed to religion but that is not the same thing. Most of my family and friends are religious. I love them dearly and would not want to change them. The institution of religion is despicable. I loathe it's doctrines and its grip on society. I would love to have the majority, including my family and friend, to come to that realization but I would want them to come to that realization on their own terms.

PZ Meyers has commented on this article as well. He makes a pretty good point about how Ecklund skews her findings. He notes that her own findings only note 17% of the interviewees participating in religion.  So the truth is that the overwhelming majority of atheist scientists reject rather than "embrace religious traditions." That, of course, is never emphasized by Ecklund. It seems obvious to me that all her conclusions on atheists is a result of preconceived notions and ulterior motives rather than the data she collects.