I Believe Not
Carson Holloway on the Unreasonable Faith of Skeptics
Published by the Center for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), The Skeptical Inquirer primarily seeks to explain—not to say debunk—supposed experiences of UFOs, ESP, ghosts, and the like. It is a serious enterprise: Among CSICOP’s fellows are Harvard’s E. O. Wilson, Oxford’s Richard Dawkins, MIT’s Steven Pinker, and F. H. C. Crick of the Falk Institute, and the magazine has a circulation of about 35,000, more than any similarly serious religious journal.
In its special March/April issue, the “Magazine for Science and Reason” turns its attention to weightier concerns than UFOs or ghosts. The issue, titled “Science and Religion 2004: Turmoil and Tensions,” is chiefly of interest, however, not so much for what it reveals about “Science and Religion” as for what it reveals about the mind of the skeptic. Skepticism turns out to be—contrary to the claims of its adherents—more like a faith than a straightforward commitment to reason and evidence, more an alternative religion than an alternative to religion.
The Church of Skepticism shows some signs of ecumenism. Thus, the editor’s introductory remarks graciously rank religion, along with science, as one of “two great manifestations of human culture.” This conciliatory note appears to be a mere gesture, however, for much of the rest of the issue reveals a faith that is Militant and even Triumphant. Many of the authors suggest, not too subtly, that Skeptics are distinguished by their commitment to reason and evidence, while, evidently, traditional religious believers are characterized by a gullible acceptance of superstitious nonsense.
The militancy and triumphalism of Skepticism are especially evident in the issue’s cartoons. One depicts a ghost, a bigfoot, and an alien on one side, with a bishop and a rabbi on the other. “That’s not my department,” the alien says, pointing to the two clergymen. Get it? The paranormal spooks are embarrassed to be associated with the representatives of biblical faith. Another cartoon shows a broom labeled “SCIENCE” sweeping the Star of David, the Crescent, and the Cross into what appears to be the dustpan of history. Subtlety, it seems, is not a hallmark of Skeptical humor.
I note in passing that if the Church of Skepticism wishes to pass successfully from militancy to a fully triumphant phase, it needs to reconsider its moral doctrine. Skepticism, it turns out, is somehow related to disapproval of alcohol. In his “New Year’s Message,” Paul Kurtz, Chairman of the Center for Inquiry–International, notes that the center is affiliated with “skeptical, secular humanist, and abstinence organizations worldwide.” I take it that abstinence here refers to abstinence from alcohol, both because of a previous reference to “SOS” (Secular Organizations for Sobriety), and because one of the authors in the issue makes a point of classifying as “barbaric” the “sexual morality” taught by traditional religions.
Skeptical believers might do well to heed Tocqueville, who warned the religions of democratic times—that is, times dominated by the moral authority of the majority and obsessed with easy pleasures not incompatible with public order—that it is unwise for any religion that wishes to flourish to antagonize public opinion unnecessarily or to insist on any unduly demanding moral practice. The Skeptical Magisterium needs to lighten up, perhaps at least by indicating that abstinence is only a counsel of perfection—like, say, celibacy or poverty in Catholicism—and not a universal obligation.
Of course, doctrinal accommodation to modernity often creates dissension, especially among the most devout; and one finds that in relation to this concern, the Church of Skepticism reveals divisions similar to those found in more traditional religions. It seems, on the basis of the Letters section of the issue, that in a previous issue some liberal Skeptical bishop or dissenting theologian had flirted with heresy by criticizing “scientism,” the belief that scientific investigation can explain everything worth knowing. This questioning of the Skeptical god’s omniscience generated a good deal of outrage among the letter-writers—Skeptical fundamentalists, it seems.
Skeptical Religion
At this point, Skeptical believers might complain that I am merely having fun at their expense. They would also surely claim, more seriously, that I am deviating from the proper method. After all, I have only asserted that Skepticism is a religion, without proving it by a reasoned appeal to the evidence. Fair enough. What, then, does the evidence show?
Skepticism is surely not religious if by religion we mean some kind of belief in the supernatural, which Skepticism forthrightly rejects. Skepticism is a kind of religion, however, in the sense that its adherents accept certain fundamental premises on faith. This faith-based element of Skepticism is visible, first of all, in its moral commitments. The aforementioned Paul Kurtz recognizes the concern of some that skeptical empirical inquiry might debunk not only traditional religion but also all values on which a decent society depends. Not to worry, he contends, for “many ethical questions may be resolved by scientific inquiry.”
Carson Holloway is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the author of a book on Darwinism and political theory from Spence Publishing.
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