Author Archives: David Hume

It’s better in Europe (again)

Posted on October 7, 2009 by David Hume

Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker, A SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC SIGH: Furthermore, it’s not as if German conservatives are a bunch of crazy far-right nihilists. This is not the Republicans we’re talking about. Both the CDU and the FDP recognize the … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, law, politics | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Teen birthrates, the relation to religion is real

Posted on October 2, 2009 by David Hume

A few weeks ago I reported on data which showed a close relationship between conservative religious views and high teen birthrates on the state level. I asked about controlling for race, since blacks have high teen birthrates, and are very … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees!

Posted on October 1, 2009 by David Hume

Ardipithecus ramidus tells us so.

Posted in culture, science | Tagged | 7 Comments

Who are the cafeteria Catholics?

Posted on September 30, 2009 by David Hume

I was curious as to the effect of Catholicism, especially when it comes to “life” issues. The GSS has a range of questions on capital punishment and abortion. I looked at ABRAPE, which basically asks if you think abortion should … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Attitudes of Republicans & Conservatives by demographic to evolution

Posted on September 29, 2009 by David Hume

Update: Welcome Hot Air readers! This post reports data from the The General Social Survey, it is *not* a post to debate the presumed merits of the Creationist controversy! I used the EVOLVED variable, which asked: Human beings, as we … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data | Tagged , , | 56 Comments

Conservative elites are conflicted on evolution, liberals are not

Posted on September 29, 2009 by David Hume

On one of my other weblogs I point out how anti-evolutionary sentiment seems particularly contingent on two variables: 1) Literalism about the Bible (a rough measure of “fundamentalism”). 2) Lack of educational socialization (i.e., not going to college and learning … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data, science | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

Rule by Good Men

Posted on September 29, 2009 by David Hume

Since Heather’s post on Karen Armstrong I’ve heard her a lot on the radio hawking her new book, The Case for God. From what I can gather her arguments are mostly relevant to religious people; those of us who are … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged | 4 Comments

Religious change in the parties

Posted on September 26, 2009 by David Hume

Comment below: As this shift occurred what happened with the proportion of white Catholics in the Democratic Party? Did it similarly fall, hold steady or rise? Is there a story there? Have you GSS blogged on the differences between Democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The rise of the Secular Left, II

Posted on September 26, 2009 by David Hume

Chris below has an excellent comment: Drawing the stacked-bars equally high when the total size of the groups they represent is substantially different creates a very misleading visual perception. I suggest redrawing with the y-axis “% of total population” – … Continue reading →

Posted in data, politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The rise of the Secular Left

Posted on September 23, 2009 by David Hume

From American Nones: The Profile of the “No Religion” Population: The proportion with “No Religion” has gone from 9% in 1990 to 15% in 2008. In most ways those with “No Religion” have become more like the general population since … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | 13 Comments