• Question: do you believe in god, if so does this affect your work?

    Asked by ehab2k11 to Steve, Julian, Jemma, Eoin, Charlie on 22 Mar 2011. This question was also asked by kayice.
    • Photo: Eoin Lettice

      Eoin Lettice answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi ehab2k11,
      Yes I do believe in God and no it does not effect my work. Many scientists have religious beliefs and many do not. Either way, it is important not to allow your own personal beliefs influence your scientific work.

      Eoin

    • Photo: Julian Rayner

      Julian Rayner answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi ehab2k11 and kayice. Sorry, not going to answer that one, but I don’t think being religious necessarily should affect being a scientist. What IS important is to keep you pre-conceived ideas out of your experiments. You should look at the data with a completely open mind, and see what it tells you. If your religion, or any other strong beliefs you hold, interfere with your impartiality, then you are not doing your job as a scientist. That’s also why collaboration is so important – sometimes by sharing data with other scientists, they will look at it in a completely different light, without any bias that you might have, even if you don’t realise you have it!

    • Photo: Jemma Ransom

      Jemma Ransom answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      I don’t believe in god, but I don’t think that affects my work appreciably, it certainly doesn’t play upon my mind as I do my experiments.

    • Photo: Stephen Moss

      Stephen Moss answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Hi Ehab
      I don’t believe in God so it doesn’t affect my work, but I think everyone should be free to make up their own minds.

    • Photo: Charlie Ryan

      Charlie Ryan answered on 22 Mar 2011:

      hi ehab and kayice wow you guys have a lot of question!!
      I’m not sure if i believe in god – i guess it would be nice to have some greater power looking down upon us, but as a scientist i look for proof and there seems to be little proof of god. should scientists have beliefs is a very good question – surely if we are constantly logical, bred to look for the clearest answer then belief are not possible for us!! But i think having strong convictions is very necessary. Sometimes as a scientist you find yourself disagreeing with the general opinion – the majority of scientists – and having to go against the tide. To do so takes some kind of belief in your ideas, you are not quite sure you are right but think there is something in your opinion. This, i think, is very similar to the belief in god, where you have some kind of feeling that there is a god but cannot be sure.

      It’s sometimes good for scientists to believe i think!!

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