Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions, according to new Rice research [View All]

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http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=16513&SnID=1659488659

12/1/2011

David Ruth
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Amy Hodges
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Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions, according to new Rice research

Study reveals 17 percent of atheists with children are involved in religious institutions for social and personal reasons

Some atheist scientists with children embrace religious traditions for social and personal reasons, according to research from Rice University and the University at Buffalo -- The State University of New York (SUNY).

The study also found that some atheist scientists want their children to know about different religions so their children can make informed decisions about their own religious preferences.

"Our research shows just how tightly linked religion and family are in U.S. society -- so much so that even some of society's least religious people find religion to be important in their private lives," said Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, the study's principal investigator and co-author of a paper in the December issue of the http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-8294">Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

The researchers found that 17 percent of atheists with children attended a religious service more than once in the past year.

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