My dialogue with Stephen Downes about what I jokingly called the 'religious wars' between what I would call the traditional instructional design community on one side and the more liberal, discovery learning/constructivist community on the other, brought home to me how touchy a subject religion is. I recently removed my religious (and political) preferences from my Facebook profile in a move of pure intellectual cowardice after I read a special report on religion and public life in The Economist. When Americans were asked if they would consider voting for an atheist, only 20% of Republicans and 50% of Democrats said yes. On the other hand only 20% of Europeans say that God plays an important role in their lives (60% in America) and only 44% of Britons believe in God. Only 15% of Britons got to church (40% in the USA). Astonishingly, even in the Catholic heartlands of Spain, Italy and Ireland, attendance rates have dropped below 20%.
On this issue, Europe and the USA might as well be on different planets. Yet 2/3 of you reading this blog are from the USA. I enjoy debating the subject (my father was left/atheist and my mother right/religious and both were always up for a discussion), but for too many the subject is out of bounds. So, from now on, I'll be choosing less controversial metaphors.
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