Is it normal to be annoyed by how tv(usa) misrepresents scientists as theists?

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11 Comments

I understand that some scientists are theists but it is not the norm. In "Fringe" Walter acknowledges that the impending obliteration of the universe is a result of his transgressions against God. In "Eureka" Henry is a member of a congregation in a town predominantly inhabited by scientists. In "The X-Files" Scully despite being a skeptic in regard to paranormal phenomena, she was Catholic.

Each charcter is a leader in their own respective field of science which makes me believe the writers(or producers) are trying send a message along the lines of, "although most scientists are non-believers only the incredibly intelligent ones can see the 'truth'"

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79% Normal
Based on 14 votes (11 yes)
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Comments ( 11 )
  • anti-hero
    10 years ago

    In Breaking Bad, Chemist Walter White says there is no soul. So I assume he is an atheist.

    Dr. Sheldon Cooper, dislikes his mother's Christian ways. So I assume he is also atheist.

    Maybe you are just watching the wrong shows.

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  • disthing
    10 years ago

    You're suggesting the writers of these various shows have a hidden agenda to promote religious belief?

    I find that doubtful. You've found three examples of fictional television scientists who are theists and decided that is a trend. Here:

    Walter White (Breaking Bad)
    Bruce Banner (Hulk)
    Dr. Emmett Brown (Back To The Future)
    Hubert J. Farnsworth (Futurama)
    Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap)
    Spock (Star Trek)
    Gil Grissom (C.S.I. Las Vegas)
    Tony Stark (Iron Man)
    Seth Brundle (The Fly)
    Professor Frink (The Simpsons)
    Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)
    Dexter (Dexter)

    (this uses the broad definition of scientist including applied scientists and engineers using applied scientists, but if you count Scully as a scientist then all of the above are too)

    They're all notable fictional scientists featured in US TV and film who aren't religious or display no religious affiliation, but there are numerous other depictions of scientists without any religious affiliation suggested (overtly or otherwise) or with religious affiliation overtly denied.

    Those 3 you chose don't represent the average. Also I think Scully being a theist, a scientist and an F.B.I. agent causes her internal conflict, which gives her character additional depth - I think the only agenda is to explore this clash between scepticism, faith and superstition.

    It's more common for scientists to be portrayed as atheists in my experience.

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    • NeuroNeptunian
      10 years ago

      This.

      Although it's not really something I pay attention to (I swear, atheists pay more attention to religion/religious affiliation than theists such as myself do =/), usually, the depictions of scientists/engineers that I saw (especially in Sci-Fi) were atheists.

      In fact (puts on Vulcan ears), Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek (which modeled an example that many other subsequent Sci-Fis followed) believed that the ideal future of humanity was a future where everyone had taken up atheism and no one participated in theism (which he considered to be a major cause of humanity's conflict). As such, despite there being religious crew-members in Star Trek (such as Chakotay from Star Trek Voyager) most of them exhibited a clear lack of religious affiliation and were at least secular (with the exception of the Klingons who were depicted as living under one religion and as "savages" and the Vulcans who were more dedicated to the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment in the form of the seeking of logic than they were interested in the worship of any deity).

      Note that most of the Crew members aboard any given Star ship were more or less, scientists. Many, in fact, were considered experts in their field.

      LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.

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    • AppleMind
      10 years ago

      Didn't Sam Beckett believe god was controlling his leaps?

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      • disthing
        10 years ago

        No, they simply didn't know what was controlling the leaps. They attribute it to "God, time, fate, or whatever". You could say that places Sam Beckett in the agnostic camp.

        (agnosticism is still included in a broad definition of atheism, in so much as it can refer to the lack of belief in any deities)

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  • PaulXavier
    10 years ago

    Almost all of the groundbreaking scientists who's research actually changed the world believed in the Jewish and Christian God. Isaac Newton, Einstein, there's a list of hundred's and that is just the historically renowned ones. Galileo had confrontations with the church, but he was in the church. Modern medicine, astronomy, antibiotics, immunization, nuclear energy. It's only the latest crop of scientists that are atheists, and they have accomplished the least for humanity. String theories. Dark matter, Probability mechanics for multiple dimensions. Useless. And Einstein has even debated to prove God's existence. You don't seem to like the idea that anyone in a scientific profession should be portrayed as a theist. You don't like the idea that the most useful scientists are theists. Forget the fantasy stuff. It's the truth.

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    • AppleMind
      10 years ago

      Um. . . you said it yourself,"It's only the latest crop of scientists that are atheists." I onlt mentioned modern TV shows.

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      • AppleMind
        10 years ago

        only*

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  • lifebattler
    10 years ago

    Don't act on that anger! Not all scientists are atheists that is true(obviously).However majority
 are and i guess majority(apparently) rules.

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  • Wendell
    10 years ago

    Some scientists are theists, it's not really misrepresenting, although many are atheist. Many people are religious, more than are atheist. So when they watch, the show is probably trying to appeal to them.

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  • q25t
    10 years ago

    There's a rather fundamental problem with trying to work atheists into TV shows. There's nothing to talk about and not much plot that can be developed from not doing something.

    To beat the metaphorical dead horse, it's like talking about how you don't golf, and the reasons why you choose not to. It's just not that interesting.

    Besides all that, there's the problem that if a TV character was explicitly an atheist and somehow demonstrated this regularly, this would most likely alienate much of the viewing audience, who are mostly religious. TV shows are a bit of a democracy.

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