‘I have faith in science and in God’: Common sense, cognitive <i>polyphasia</i> and attitudes to science in Nigeria

Falade, Bankole; Bauer, Martín W.

doi:10.1177/0963662517690293

Cited by 35 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…For example, exposure to anti-vaccine CTs decreases people’s intentions to vaccinate ( Jolley and Douglas, 2014a ). Similar society-wide public health implications arose for polio vaccination in Nigeria ( Falade and Bauer, 2017 ), where the vaccine was seen as the instrument of a Western birth-control plot. In the United States, belief that birth control and HIV/AIDS are forms of genocide against African Americans is associated with negative attitudes toward contraception ( Bogart and Thorburn, 2006 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Contradictions between CTs may not be detected or experienced as contradictions by believers, because the representations of the CTs do not have precise interpretations, and so do not support a sharp sense of conflict. They may thus permit coexistence of apparently contradictory knowledge systems ( Legare and Gelman, 2008 ) or cognitive polyphasia ( Jovchelovitch, 2006 ; Falade and Bauer, 2017 ), in which aspects of conventional and conspiratorial worldviews offer complementary, rather than competing explanations of destabilizing events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews

et al. 2017

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Conspiracy theories (CTs) are widespread ways by which people make sense of unsettling or disturbing cultural events. Belief in CTs is often connected to problematic consequences, such as decreased engagement with conventional political action or even political extremism, so understanding the psychological and social qualities of CT belief is important. CTs have often been understood to be “monological,” displaying the tendency for belief in one conspiracy theory to be correlated with belief in (many) others. Explanations of monologicality invoke a nomothetical or “closed” mindset whereby mutually supporting beliefs based on mistrust of official explanations are used to interpret public events as conspiracies, independent of the facts about those events (which they may ignore or deny). But research on monologicality offers little discussion of the content of monological beliefs and reasoning from the standpoint of the CT believers. This is due in part to the “access problem”: CT believers are averse to being researched because they often distrust researchers and what they appear to represent. Using several strategies to address the access problem we were able to engage CT believers in semi-structured interviews, combining their results with analysis of media documents and field observations to reconstruct a conspiracy worldview – a set of symbolic resources drawn on by CT believers about important dimensions of ontology, epistemology, and human agency. The worldview is structured around six main dimensions: the nature of reality, the self, the outgroup, the ingroup, relevant social and political action, and possible future change. We also describe an ascending typology of five types of CT believers, which vary according to their positions on each of these dimensions. Our findings converge with prior explorations of CT beliefs but also revealed novel aspects: A sense of community among CT believers, a highly differentiated representation of the outgroup, a personal journey of conversion, variegated kinds of political action, and optimistic belief in future change. These findings are at odds with the typical image of monological CT believers as paranoid, cynical, anomic and irrational. For many, the CT worldview may rather constitute the ideological underpinning of a nascent pre-figurative social movement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews

et al. 2017

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“…The move from conceptual conflicts focused on theology and belief has also inspired scholars to push for studying ordinary religious people’s religious attitudes, views, and behaviors, instead of constantly focusing on religious leaders and elites (Evans, 2011, Evans & Evans 2008; Falade & Bauer, 2018). By focusing on everyday attitudes and behaviors, scholars have documented how science and medicine are embraced selectively, especially in cases when they can mirror and bolster communal norms.…”

Section: Covid-19 Religion and Ethnic Minoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Engagement With Science Among Religious Minorities: Lessons From COVID-19

Taragin‐Zeller

Rozenblum

Baram‐Tsabari

2020

Science Communication

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While scholars have highlighted how science communication reifies forms of structural inequality, especially race and gender, we examine the challenges science communication pose for religious minorities. Drawing on the disproportionate magnitude of COVID-19-related morbidity on Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Jews, we examined their processes of COVID-19 health decision making. Survey results show that both religious and health-related justifications were common for personal decisions, yet a disparity was found between the ways social distancing guidelines were perceived in the general education context compared with the religious context, signaling the importance for inclusive models of science communication that account for religious sensibilities and state-minority relations.

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“…He found that issues other than the epistemological relationship between science and religion were at the core of the debate, including the relationship between religion and the state, the nature of science education in schools, school performance, and the role of private companies in education. Based on interview and questionnaire research, Falade and Bauer () found complexity in the relationship between science and religion for publics in Nigeria as well.…”

Section: Understanding Science and Accepting Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%