[ExI] Rick Warren on religion

[Stuart LaForge]

BillW wrote:

> That is
> there is probably a strong correlation between a person's religiousness and
> whether Stanley Milgram in a white lab coat can get them to electrocute
> other study participants.  keith
>
> https://www.jstor.org/stable/3510781?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
>
> That turns out not to be the case.  The results of this study are
> puzzling but still contradictory to your statement.

Did you actually read the study that you cited? A small sample of 30
college students were categorized as extremists i.e. extreme believers and
extreme non-believers, and religious moderates based on the scores on 3
subjective written tests:

1. An inventory of religious beliefs which was likely biased toward
Judeo-christian tradition as the test was administered by psychology
researchers at a theological seminary., 2. A test of where one falls on
the fundamentalism to humanism axis, and 3. a self-evaluated "closeness to
God" questionnaire.

It is notable that the "extreme non-believers" based on test #2
(fundamentalism) and test #3 (closeness to God)  administered the lowest
average voltage shocks out of the three categories of students. This
doesn't contradict my
hypothesis but rather supports it. The discrepancy is easily understood
that someone who is strongly religious is less likely to perceive a
secular authority figure like a scientist as having any real authority and
therefore would be more likely to disobey a scientist.

In order to control for that, they should have arranged for a pastor of
those students' faith to order the administration of electric shocks to
perceived non-believers.

Stuart LaForge