Deck 12: Godless Science, irrational Religion

Question 1

The notion of a "nonoverlapping magesteria" is that

A)religion and science explain the same phenomena.
B)religion cannot explain as much as science can.
C)science cannot explain as much as religion can.
D)religion and science explain different things.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The Creation Museum in Kentucky

A)compares and contrasts scientific evidence with Biblical teachings.
B)views scientific evidence as irrelevant.
C)reinterprets scientific evidence so that they affirm Biblical teachings.
D)uses Biblical teachings to explain how scientific findings are false.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Empirical evidence

A)looks different to each observer because it has inter-subjective reality.
B)is not used by scientists to evaluate hypotheses.
C)allows scientific claims to be confirmed or disproved.
D)A & B

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Scientists

A)question what they know,and try to prove themselves and others wrong.
B)claim they know the truth,based on limited evidence.
C)deny that there are gaps in their current knowledge.
D)do not realize that their findings may upset the taken-for-granted social order.

Question 5

In 2005,Judge John Jones ruled that teachers in the Dover,DE school district

A)can teach intelligent design,but not creationism,in biology classrooms.
B)cannot teach intelligent design,or read a statement in support of intelligent design,in biology classrooms.
C)can teach creationism in biology classrooms.
D)can teach intelligent design in biology classrooms.

Question 6

Copernicus's conclusion that the earth revolved around the sun

A)was warmly received by religious leaders of his time.
B)was based on his beliefs but not empirical evidence.
C)challenged the religiously-based idea that humans are at the center of the natural world.
D)confirmed the taken-for-granted assumptions of his time.

Question 7

The Biblical story of Adam and Eve

A)closely matches scientific evidence for human evolution.
B)is told twice,with substantially different orderings of events.
C)is told twice,with no significant differences in the details of the story.
D)is told twice,but only one account posits that God created man from scratch and placed him on earth is his present form.

Question 8

Why do scientists argue that an "intelligent designer" is not a matter for science to decide?

A)The intelligent designer is directly observable.
B)The intelligent designer is outside of nature.
C)The existence of the intelligent designer is a scientifically testable hypothesis,but has not yet been tested.
D)all of the above

Question 9

Assisted reproduction (e.g.,sperm donation,egg donation,gestational surrogacy)

A)is banned in Catholicism,Islam,and Judaism.
B)is welcomed by Catholicism,Islam,and Judaism as a way to increase the size of families.
C)is understood differently by Catholicism,Islam,and Judaism.
D)is acceptable in Catholicism,Islam ,and Judaism because the practices are consistent with those faiths' definitions of "family."

Question 10

What is central to the process of scientific inquiry?

A)Evidence cannot be empirical.
B)Logic,not imagination,leads scientists to formulate and test hypotheses.
C)Science can explain the past but cannot predict future outcomes.
D)Scientists try to identify and avoid bias.

Question 11

National surveys of biology teachers reveal that

A)more than 90% had discussed creationism in the their classrooms.
B)those with more college-level biology credits were more likely to discuss creationism in their classrooms.
C)seventy-five percent do not accept the scientific evidence for evolution.
D)those with more college-level biology credits were less likely to discuss creationism in their classrooms.

Question 12

Which creation story is supported by empirical evidence?

A)the story of Adam and Eve where the world is created in seven days
B)the scientific theory of human evolution
C)the Norse creation tale where humans arise from thawed ice
D)all of the above

Question 13

According to religious historian Karen Armstrong,"fundamentalism"

A)is a response by religions to the rising societal influence of science and rationality.
B)is a return to an original way of doing things,based on religion.
C)is science's response to the conflict between religion and science.
D)is evidence that Christianity,Judaism,and Islam have always had tense relationships with science.

Question 14

Who argued that religion and science are "nonoverlapping magisteria"?

A)religious historian Karen Armstrong
B)biologist Stephen Jay Gould
C)astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus
D)theoretical physicist Albert Einstein

Question 15

Among a nationally representative sample of Americans in 2008,which statement on human evolution received the most support?

A)Human evolution is guided by God.
B)God had no part in human evolution.
C)God created human beings pretty much in their present form.
D)Each statement was supported by about one-third of the respondents.

Question 16

Evolutionary theory suggests that

A)nature's categories fixed rather than flexible.
B)humans are central to the natural world,more so than other living things.
C)humans came to the earth late,and may not always survive as a species.
D)all of the above

Question 17

According to the text,why might science create discontent among religious persons?

A)Science is destablizing,skeptical,and increasingly explains what religion once explained.
B)Scientists are rigid and amoral.
C)Scientists admit they are unable to explain supernatural phenomena.
D)Because all scientists are atheists,their conclusions are untrustworthy.

Question 18

Scientists do NOT presume:

A)the world is understandable because patterns in nature reflect general laws.
B)knowledge is durable because it is based on carefully collected evidence that accumulates over time.
C)ideas are modified as evidence accumulates and our knowledge base grows.
D)science can provide complete answers for all questions.