(RNS) While rejection of evolution is strongly associated with Americans’ religiosity, the same is not true of climate change.
That’s the conclusion of a new study that sought to test popular assumptions about the link between religion and anti-science attitudes, and determine whether that link holds true for people’s views on both evolution and climate change.
The exception to this finding is evangelical Protestants.In a recent edition of the journal Environment and Behavior, Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund and her colleagues write that while religious views drive Americans’ rejection of evolution, skepticism about climate change is more a function of political views and lack of confidence in the work of scientists. Continue reading
A young woman who received death threats after going out without her full-body dress in Saudi Arabia now faces being lashed after she was arrested.
Former Vice President Al Gore has met President-elect Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump to discuss climate policy.
“A priest in Italy has caused uproar after announcing there would be no Christmas nativity scene at the local cemetery this year because it could offend Muslims and atheists. Fr Sante Braggiè said there would be no crib in the cemetery in the northern city of Cremona because it may anger people of others faiths or none whose relatives are buried there. …The local chief of the conservative Lega Nord, Pietro Burgazzi, also said: “I hope the decision not to put up a crib was not ideological, but hearing the criticisms it seems that it was.” –
NASA satellite data provided a look at the cloud cover and rainfall rates within Tropical Cyclone Vardah. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite measured rainfall rates as Vardah was headed for landfall. After landfall, NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of the storm’s cloud cover as it weakened to a remnant low pressure area over southern India.
“A Christian computer scientist predicted that, based on her calculations and analysis of the 70 “sevens” prophecy mentioned in the book of Daniel, the return of Jesus to earth is imminent—and it won’t even reach 2017. Nora Roth, a self-proclaimed Bible student, said the second coming of Christ will happen in three weeks, specifically on New Year’s Eve. Her findings, written on her blog “The Mark of the Beast,” are based on the biblical pattern of following the sabbath. Roth cited that God mandated the seventh day of the week to be the sabbath day. He also instructed the Israelites to observe the sabbath year or sabbatical year, which is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle.” –
“For some, it’s a dream come true: The ability to walk into a grocery store, grab anything you want off the shelves, and simply walk out. There’s no need to wait in line at a busy cash register. Your bank account will be automatically debited when you leave the store. It’s magical. …So the day is coming when people will be able to pull up to cashier-less stores in their driverless car, leaving their cashless wallet at home. All they will need is their smartphone and Amazon’s new app, called 
“I’m hopeful he’s going to do his best to “make America great again.” But it will take more than better governance in Washington to heal our land. That’s why I wrote a very optimistic new book – my first new title in six years. It’s called 
A tsunami warning has been issued for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck 70km off the Solomon Islands, according to USGS.