Subjective causes of poverty can be divided into two groups – internal and external. The internal group explains the existence of those in need by laziness of the last. The possible consequence of such a belief is that the assistance to poor should be limited. The external group of causes is based on the assumption that poverty is not fault of the poor. They either did not have enough opportunities in their lives or were the victims of technological change. Thus, help of others is justifiable. In this paper we test to relation of subjective reasons of poverty, as classified above, to the political left-right orientation of the respondents and subjective degree of responsibility they have in their life. Belief in God is the other important factor considered. The results suggest that leftist political orientation is associated with a beliefs blaming lack of luck for the poor economic situation of the others. Subjective degree of individual responsibility for one’s economic well-being is positively related to the belief, that poor are responsible for their poor situation themselves. Belief in God did not prove to be related to any of the subjective causes of poverty.
Artykuł przedstawia wybrane wyniki badania 279 polskich naukowców ze stopniem doktora i doktora habilitowanego. Ogólny wskaźnik wierzących w Boga wyniósł 56,3%, był najwyższy wśród chemików (80%), geografów (76,2%), matematyków i informatyków (73,1%) i medyków (64,5%). Część badanych (6,5%) uznała, że ich pogląd najlepiej wyraża zdanie: „Nie wierzę w osobowego Boga, ale wierzę w pewnego rodzaju siłę wyższą”. Deklaracje ateizmu złożyło 18,3% badanych, agnostycyzm jako swą postawę wskazało 7,2%. Omówiono też poglądy badanych na temat relacji między nauką a religią, nawiązując do typologii tych relacji zaproponowanej przez Iana Barboura. Najwięcej badanych (41,9%) zaprzeczało istnieniu konfliktu między tymi dziedzinami myśli ludzkiej, 13% uznało, że zachodzi między nimi konflikt. Część badanych (19,6%) uważała, że nauka i religia powinny być traktowane jako niezależne obszary dociekań, 2% opowiedziało się za dialogiem religii i nauki, a 3,6% za ich współdziałaniem w budowaniu obrazu świata.
EN
The paper presents selected results of a study on the religious views of 279 Polish scholars with a doctoral or higher degree. The percentage of scholars who declared belief in God was 56.3%. The four groups with the highest indices were chemists (80%), geographers and Earth scientists (76.2%), mathematicians and information technology specialists (73.1%), and medical scientists (64.5%). A small proportion of respondents (6.5%) chose the following option: “I don’t believe in a personal God but I believe in a higher power of some kind.” The percentages of atheists and agnostics were 18.3% and 7.2%, respectively. The subjects’ views on the relationship between science and religion were categorized according to the Barbour’s typology (Barbour, 1990). The largest proportion of the subjects (41.9%) denied the inevitability of conflict between science and religion; 13% held the opposite view. Some scholars (19.6%) expressed the view that science and religion should be treated as independent areas of inquiry. The relationship of dialog seemed to be the best form of their coexistence to 2% respondents, while 3.6% were in favor of the cooperation of science and religion in building a comprehensive worldview.
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