Stephen Meyer writing for Newsweek explains how scientists themselves have contributed to a widespread misunderstanding of science and its implications for religious faith. He cites an important Discovery Institute survey:

Headlines lately have not been encouraging for the faithful. A Gallup poll shows that the percentage of Americans who believe in God has fallen to 81 percent — a drop of 10 percent over the last decade and an all-time low. This accelerating trend is especially pronounced among young adults. According to a Pew Research Center poll, 18-29 year-olds are disproportionately represented among so-called “nones” — atheists, agnostics and the religiously unaffiliated.

Pastors and other religious leaders have attributed this trend to many factors: young people being raised outside the church, an unfamiliarity with liturgy and church culture, even COVID-19.

We found another answer in our national survey to probe the underlying reasons for this growing unbelief: a misunderstanding of science.

Perhaps surprisingly, our survey discovered that the perceived message of science has played a leading role in the loss of faith. We found that scientific theories about the unguided evolution of life have, in particular, led more people to reject belief in God than worries about suffering, disease, or death. It also showed that 65 percent of self-described atheists and 43 percent of agnostics believe “the findings of science [generally] make the existence of God less probable.”

It’s easy to see why this perception has proliferated. In recent years, many scientists have emerged as celebrity spokesmen for atheism. 

Read the rest at Newsweek. In his latest book, Return of the God Hypothesis, Meyer details the three modern discoveries that point not to a godless, meaningless universe but to a cosmos driven by purpose and foresight. What a shame that the scientific mainstream has done such a poor job of communicating this to the public. Their conformism, groupthink, and, frankly, cowardice have cost our culture dearly.