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.
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.
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)
IIN to be annoyed by how TV(USA) misrepresents scientists as theists?
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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
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AppleMind
10 years ago
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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.
Didn't Sam Beckett believe god was controlling his leaps?
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disthing
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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)