Jerry Coyne: "when used as a derogatory adjective, “scientism” means this:
the practice of applying rationality and standards of evidence to faith.
For religious people and accommodationists, that practice is a no-no. That’s why the adjective is pejorative."
I think there is something which we could validly call "scientism", namely the belief that science can answer all our questions, or that all questions reduce to scientific ones, or something. However, Coyne's point stands: "scientism" is often code for "how dare you ask us for evidence?"
(tags: scientism science religion jerry-coyne)
