Sarah Palin Says Most Professors Don’t Believe in God

Actually, I don’t believe in Sarah Palin.

I don’t believe in supernatural stuff, including Palin’s God. I guess I’m one of those ‘self-proclaimed atheists’, though I don’t spend a lot of time listing all the fantasies I don’t believe in. But, FWIW, i don’t believe in unicorns, the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus either.

Oddly enough I voted for her in 2008, but only because the alternative was worse.

I certainly won’t be voting for her in 2012 in the GOP primary. She’s a jackass.

Give her a break. She’s appealing to her constituency —

“people who believe in God and regularly attend their church or synagogue as alien beings, people who are ‘largely poor, uneducated and easy to command”

She thinks like most Americans, whether she’s right or not. We have always been an anti-intellectual country, and Sarah Palin reflects an America that certainly Tocqueville would recognize, where faith trumps reason in every case. She is a classic American triumphalist of faith, and the fact is, so are most Americans. We don’t vote for eggheads…Poor Adlai Stevenson.

I’m pretty sure she actually meant politicians rather than professors. If most politicians actually believe in a God, they don’t act like it. Well, enough snarky comments at Sarah’s expense. Easy shots, all.

God!!! Save us from Sarah!!!

I believe that many CHE reporters have a Sarah Palin fetish and would have nothing to write about if she never existed.

I resisted an earlier temptation to compare Ms. Palin to Aimee Semple McPherson, but perhaps I should reconsider.

and so what?

We spend so much effort trying to teach our students about critical thinking, about basing argument on data, etc. Yet our public figures and gasp even “leaders” tend to spout statements like this that appeal to their constituency but may not have any basis in fact.

What does that say about the future of this country?

While I don’t think I would vote for her for President, the article does not actually refute or support her supposition about the faith of college faculty. She does not say they do not believe in God, but instead Palin asserts their faith, or lack thereof, differs from mainstream America, and they do not regularly practice it:
“…don’t share the religious faith of their fellow Americans. They seem to regard people who believe in God and regularly attend their church or synagogue…”
So, the more valuable comparison would be to compare faculty beliefs to mainstream America and consider whether they regularly practice their faith. I don’t know what that comparison would yield, but the statistics in the article would seem to indicate that 50% or less are practicing.

Tom,

I think Sarah Palin is right in what she states in her book. Your reference that follows is inaccurate. “So, by my math, nearly 74 percent of professors have at least some belief in God or in a higher power and would therefore be unlikely to regard other people who also believe in God as “alien beings.”

74% is a far cry from a decided/firm 34.9% that stated; “I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it.” Included in your 74% are those that, (1)don’t know (2)believe in a higher power (3)believe in God some of the time(oh, like when they are headed for disaster – give me a break) (4)doubts that He exists but do believe – those 4 categories make up 53.2% of your 74%. Even if we give you the 16.6% that “kind of doubt it” you are at just 51.5%.

If you are honest on the subject, a little over 1/3 of our professors are TRUE believers. When you consider that, “According to the Gallup Poll, belief in God has always been very high in the United States, ranking in the mid-90 percent range over the last sixty years”, one can’t help but think that non-believers gravitate to careers in higher education.

Nuff said!

I think Ms. Palin’s pronouncements need to be taken very seriously from a statistical point of view. She has talked with professors at very many colleges while obtaining her bachelor’s degree.

You Betcha!

It is not surprising that Sarah Palin is wrong again about her facts. Being correct has not been her priority. A more important question, even if her factual claim was correct, though, is what relevance is one’s belief in God to being a professor–unless one is a professor of Theology? In other words, she not only doesn’t get her facts right, but, even if she did, she still wouldn’t be making a sensible point. Still, I concede that she is able to capture the American fantasy with her verbal opiate. So, the small problem is that she is addicted to producing such drivel. The big problem is we remain addicted to consuming it.

bctpaptc wrote:

“74% is a far cry from a decided/firm 34.9% that stated; “I know God really exists and I have no doubts about it… If you are honest on the subject, a little over 1/3 of our professors are TRUE believers.”

So TRUE believers never have doubts about their faith? Apparently I’ve been reading the wrong bible all these years.

RE: What does that say about the future of this country?

ANS: What does that say about the future of Sarah Palin?

So when did Palin ever let the facts get in the way of her flippant observations of the world?

“cwinton – November 24, 2010 at 3:41 pm

I resisted an earlier temptation to compare Ms. Palin to Aimee Semple McPherson, but perhaps I should reconsider.”

cwinton: Don’t insult Aimee Semple McPherson

Why is this woman even on the radar screen? I wish the media would abandon her. Her only intelligence lies in the fact that she knows how to make money off of a combination of hysteria and ignorance. Guess she’s never heard of the separation of church and state.

To answer your question – Yes she is right – far, far, nut-ball right. Extremist is too moderate a word to describe her thinking process. She can easily match, if not exceed, the very stupid things that used to come out of “W’s” mouth when he was President.

Mark Twain wrote “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.”

It stands to reason that the rigorous empiricism at the heart of proper academic inquiry should breed at the very least a healthy skepticism for doctrines of faith. Rather than acknowledge this fact, right wing nuts like Palin-& Bill Buckley before her-proceed from the premise that the existence of the christian god is an incontrovertible fact & argue that academics, motivated by liberal politics, do all they can to suppress the evidence supporting god’s existence. Given that there isn’t a shred of credible evidence backing their fairy-tale premise, the argument is absurd.

“She can easily match, if not exceed, the very stupid things that used to come out of “W’s” mouth when he was President.”

of course, as opposed to the very stupid things that come out of “O’s” mouth.

Aw, what the heck. We’re all having too much fun piling on Ms. Palin. Bashing is such fun, and makes us feel like superior people.

This just in: A poll* shows that 100 percent of the professors in Iran are “true believers.”

* A poll of one person, the Minister of Higher Education.

It’s a shame that the same level of scrutiny wasn’t applied to President Obama… as he is far from what he said and many of us hoped he would be!

Peter,

The American people were mindless enough to elect Barack Obama. We can only hope they will have wised up by 2012 and will elect Paul Ryan, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin………….our country is in need of some serious mending. Republicans and Dems alike put us in this position. The hateful spewing of sound bites from “supposed” intellectual elites needs to stop. We are all fellow countrymen and should conduct ourselves as such. Please stop with the hate!

bctpaptc,

Why is calling the people who voted for Barack Obama “mindless” less hateful than your comment?

This is one of the most fascinating strategies employed by the right (including Palin). The constant complaining of hateful speech while name calling at almost unprecedented levels is an interesting political move.

Mcdoolittlesfu: I read the article and the comments. My sense is that more of the commenters read the comments than you seem to think. There was a good deal of discussion about the actual percentages in the essay and study.

So, what if I don’t believe in Palin’s God? Does a professor or a non-professor need to believe in some form of deity in order to have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

why does any educated person care what Sarah Palin says? Let’s do everyone a favor and quit talking about her (maybe she will go away).

While I agree that this blog (and it is a blog rather than an article) gets it wrong to actually engage Palin on the accuracy of her irrelevant comment, I think it is important for the CHE to provide the space to discuss the things she says. We dismiss her at our own peril, and those who think we should just stop talking about her are missing the point. The point is that whether we like it or not, she and her followers are a political fact and they thrive in a world where they are given the opportunity to express anger at being disrespected, belittled, or ignored. They thrive on anger, such as we see (in only the most recent ugly example) with Bristol’s desire to win on DWTS not because she was the best dancer, but because she thought it would shut up her critics. The fact that she was NOT the best dancer by any objective standard, and therefore not qualified to win a DANCE COMPETITION, seemed not to trouble her or her supporters very much. Yet she got to the top three and I suspect she only lost because those who had been dismissing her as a serious contender finally realized that merit does not just win out on its own. Those who believe in it have to actually say and do something about contenders they may believe unworthy of serious consideration.

Just because someone doesn’t talk about God doesn’t mean they don’t believe in him. The statement is inaccurate. Thanks for looking!
http://www.zazzle.com/starbucksfrapp

Perhaps we are missing the larger issue here. The problem is quite possibly one of public image. This is not an uncommon perception among those outside the world of academia. We are judged by our words, or perhaps our lack of them. The most vocal amongst members of the academy may very well be the atheists, while those who believe or sometimes believe are silent.

If education is our goal, and I certainly hope that is still the case, then perhaps it is time that we educate the public as to what we believe, rather than whispering in the trades about how affronted we are about the misconceived missives of the misinformed.

So according to that article, only 9.8% of us are not utter morons?

Again, what we believe is irrelevant. The public image is that many of us are not only godless, but communists who hate America and no amount of public denial will change that perception. We are traditional scapegoats. Should we spend our time trying to disprove every irrelevant charge leveled at us when the fact is that Palin and her ilk are simply searching for a public enemy to hide the fact that she has nothing to offer but a folksy, down-homey “us-ness”? The larger issue is that there are some people who flat-out don’t understand that higher education is not in the business of proving to society that we’re just like them. That’s the trade of soccer-mom, “don’t retreat, reload” politicians who star in reality shows to prove how typically American they are.

“So according to that article, only 9.8% of us are not utter morons?”

Is it possible to not believe in a deity and still be an utter moron?

All of these postings have been interesting — and all have contained at least a grain of accuracy. What was a bit worrisome were the postings that suggested no more should be written and/or posted about Ms. Palin in this publication/on this website. I do NOT believe that is a wise approach.

Ms. Palin is someone who uses lies or half-truths in order to support an anti-intellectual agenda. After all, the ONLY people with any worth are those who believe as she does. I’m not sure how she supports her thesis that she represents the majority of American people — because she has been elected to a couple of political offices? Her most successful campaign has NOT been her partially-served term as governor of Alaska or her brief moment as a vice presidential candidate for John McCain (someone who was forced by the Republican Party to accept an ultra-conservative governor as a running mate). Her most successful campaign has been as Political Personality du jour. She really is the Current Flavor. Those of us who are appalled or angered or embarrassed by her can hope she’ll go away — or that some other Republican will become the Next GOP Presidential Candidate. Until then, it’s important to report on what she says.

This approach really is more than pandering to what Ms. Palin wants — even though she clearly is someone who craves the attention. The only way to stop people who try to achieve personal gain by telling repeated lies is to shine a light on their words and to repeatedly call them when they lie. This can be a tedious task, particularly when someone offers as many false statements and half-truths as Ms. Palin does.

It is a sad commentary on the state of America today, but one of the people posting in this blog hit the proverbial nail on the head when he/she compared Ms. Palin’s approach to Hitler’s. Hitler also used the Big Lie to fuel his political ambitions and push an agenda that praised his supporters and damned anyone who didn’t believe as he did.

The antidote to Sarah Palin is not an information blackout. Instead, use the power of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to shine a light on her words, which allegedly reflect her beliefs and her ambitions.

Unlike Ms. Palin’s obtuse attack on several categories of college-educated professionals, I do believe in God. And I pray to a Supreme Being on a regular basis that Ms. Palin is NEVER elected to national office and that the people who support her start THINKING about what is needed to guide this country back to some level of success. That is the ONLY way that complex problems (involving the economy, health care, and related quality-of-life issues) can take their rightful place in the public dialog so they can be dealt with — rather than wasting time on someone who is STILL complaining about Katie Couric (who asked her during 2009 what book Palin was CURRENTLY reading. Palin couldn’t come up with an answer and has whined ever since that Couric was “out to get” her.) It’s easy, and occasionally amusing, to make fun of Ms. Palin; she does seem to suffer from Foot-in-Mouth Disease. (North Korea is a U.S. ally? Since when?) Ms. Palin needs to be held to the same standards the rest of us have to meet on a daily basis – she needs to be held accountable for what she says and writes.

Wow. A lot of these posts – happily, not all of them – reflect precisely the antipathy Sarah Palin described (and many Americans recognize). Not to mention a complete disregard for accuracy.

Why are we pandering to Palin? No, we don’t believe in god. Please, Chronicle, stop trying to mainstream the professoriate.

In the USA you have the freedom to choose your own school of higher ed and your journalists. Quit complaining and vote with your wallet and your feet.

I think Palin probably has college professors about right. What she is wrong about is the American people. In this, she is just as mistaken as most college professors.

The vast, overwhelming majority of Americans are ATHEISTS first and socially motivated /traditionalist religious practitioners (if that) second. If we had anything like broad agreement on moral values in this country, such “religious” practitioners would be even fewer. (But we don’t).

“True believing” THEISTS amongst the American people are a distinct MINORITY.

Even among people who appear to be highly vocal theists their interests are frequently more a matter of cultural tribalism–have we started this year’s edition of the “war on Christmas” yet?

And etc.

It really should not matter whether I believe in god or not; faith is not my area of expertise. As a historian I would think that as long as I give a thorough and well researched discussion of religious elements of historical development I am doing my job.

Many thanks for the citation to the Gross and Simmons article in Sociology of Religion (2009).

“Believing in God” is not a flag to be waived. It’s no one’s business if I believe in God or not. As we say in the south, “Bless her heart”.

Bless her little heart.

Gharbisonne,

I agree with much of what you say, although I wonder why you left out the Easter bunny. However, calling Sarah Palin a jackass seems to me insupportable, except in the very loosest sense, bordering on her own rather casual attitude toward the English language.

She’s a jenny.

Tom, you are fundamentally wrong when you mix a scalable belief in “god” with “religious faith” shared by most Americans. By shaping your response in this manner you a disingenuous and employing a rhetorical sleight-of-hand. Your tome is unseemly and intellectually unsound.

Given the snide un-Christian posting here regarding Sarah personally, it is clear that most academics do not share the same faith as most Americans.

It’s so much fun with Sarah Palin. Please, God, let her keep entertaining us but keep her away from becoming the leader of the world. She will displace countries faster than the continental drift.

This is a surprise? She continues to talk about things she knows nothing about: professors. She’s only in politics for the money she can make on the side, so we shouldn’t be surprised by anything she says (or listen?).

hulka,

I have a feeling we are on opposite ends of the particular spectrum, but I think we agree that the elitism exhibited in these comments exemplifies why Sarah Palin (or her cohorts)represent a real political force in American politics. You are likely encouraged, I am disappointed. I have built my life in academia for decades and have always found some humor in academics distancing themselves from the general electorate. Now, however, they are Nero fiddling. I am disgusted by this pomposity, this pretense, this oh so perfect action in contradiction to their own interests. Just wait until Palin or a Palin-look-alike gets elected President or all those Palinites get elected to Congress, and watch what happens to research funding, watch what happens to the Department of Education, watch what happens to the Department of State cultural exchanges….

You people who do not take this seriously are fools of the first order.

rescomp, well argued, though as you can imagine, after having read her books, listened carefully to what she said (not filtered by the media), I am encouraged and do not fear we face the doomsday scnario many envision. Thank you for a reasoned post and a thopughtul reply. Refreshing.

Fascinating how SP brings out such venom in libs. I wonder how many other articles received THIS many comments recently. BTW, why did CHE stop numbering comments? I rather enjoyed seeing how many comments had been made.

The comments here are almost the same ones made against Bush ’43 being anti-intellectual and moronic — when his grades were better and his SAT score higher than John Kerry’s! Fascinating, I tell you!

TRUE believers? Who’s certifying them? Who cares? Last time I looked, education was about helping people to think so they can be engaged, thoughtful civilians.

PS: Despite what is published about Bush’s supposed SAT, there is no way to verify that report. ETS ain’t talking. I do know that Bush wanted to attend UT Austin but was rejected. UT used SAT score and high school GPA at the time, a strictly numerical calculation.
signed,
A fellow Texan who did attend UT back then.

so what is the religious left? There are none from the comments posted here…..

Hi,

I hate to be a fly in the ointment here, but Sarah Palin didn’t say most professors didn’t believe in God. She said most of them didn’t share the religious beliefs (and practices, like attending regularly etc) as their fellow Americans. Once again, Palin-haters rush in with statistics that aren’t addressing what she’s talking about. 51% of professors believe in God. How many of them would feel comfortable saying publicly, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior” or “I look to God and read the Bible for inspiration?” How many professors attend services once or more a week? I don’t have the statistics handy, but I am certain from other studies into the political affiliation of professors, that it the answer to the latter questions would be far less than half.

Sarah Palin isn’t saying that everyone has to believe in God. She’s pointing out an obvious facet of the professoriate, which is that it skews to the Left, and favors positivism and Darwinism over faith and tradition. The reason that she brings this up is that students and conservative faculty often feel unrepresented by the faculty who are given the authority to pontificate about important issues.

I read her first book but have not been able to read this one yet. I can say, however, that from the passage quoted above, she appears to have a valid point.

And professors across America, remember, not only voted for and donated to Obama’s presidential campaign at enormous margins (some studies pointed to 10 Obama supporters for every 1 McCain supporter, if I remember correctly), but also, the professoriate rushed out to endorse, even market Obama to their students and to the general community, using their PhDs as a special imprimatur to crown Obama as the more intellectual candidate. In this piece: http://colorfulconservative.blogspot.com/2010/10/case-for-sarah-palin.html , back in October, I made a simple argument that the professoriate erred wildly in emphasizing Obama’s intellect as the reason their students should vote for him.

I said, back then, “As it turns out, people can be great debaters and give a great interview with Katie Couric, and still have no clue about how to fix an unemployment problem. Many people who have gone to Harvard don’t know how to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.”

Yes I am an English professor who supports Sarah Palin and donates to her PAC. If you’d like to hear from someone who actually likes this woman for thought-out intellectual reasons, feel free to visit the site I run with 8 other bloggers: http://www.colorfulconservative.com . We don’t bite.

@ coco_rico: I question whether the professoriate favors positivism. In a number humanistic and social scientific disciplines, “positivist” is a slur. If this were not the case, academics might have more of a defense against their critics.

@ everyone: In the past, I have found it interesting to compare religious sermons and literary criticism. Researchers in some academic disciplines often use neo-Marxist (deconstructionist, feminist, postcolonialist, psychoanalytic, etc.) philosophy with the same argumentative function as preachers do when they quote the Bible. Having spent time around a few MLA-field graduate students, my impression is that their faith in these sacred texts is similar in structure to religious folks’ faith in the Bible. I know I’m not the only one to reach this conclusion.

Rhetorical question: if we can have all these people who base their research on faith in far-left ideologies, why not also have people who base their research on faith in God? I don’t endorse religious-based scholarship, but current practices make the question inevitable.

Wink, wink.