I still disagree with the argument that the religious affiliation of those taxpayers deserves a specific callout rather than any other characteristic.
I also disagree with the initial characterization that all Americans are Christian. Or that Christian messaging is somehow “American”. It isn’t. It is a harmful stereotype.
JWST is not about religion. Defending the directors poor choice of message with religious statistics reduces both American Christians and Americans in general to oversimplified caricatures.
Christianity and the JWST have nothing to do with each other. To claim otherwise is insulting to both Americans and any contributors to the JWST, including the international community.
Saying JWST is funded 63% by Christians is false anyway, the other contributors also have some amount of Christian affiliation. Further, why choose the religious angle? Why not say it was half funded by women? Or by some ethnicity? Any way you apply these statistics is going to be insulting because they are irrelevant. This is why the directors messaging is problematic.
I dont see it has either a stereotype, nor harmful to acknowledge Christians in our society, or their contribution. In fact pretending they do not exist is IMO more harmful
>JWST is not about religion
I dont believe anyone claimed it was, nor did the NASA director. What you are attempting to do however is exclude any mentions of religion from the topic, I would not want to make JWST about religion, but I also have no desire to pretend religion does not exist, nor am I so fragile in my beliefs that someone else expressing theirs causes me consternation or an identity crisis like it seems to have done with you.
I recognize that it likely people of all religions have worked on some part of the JWST, I recognize that the current director of NASA is a christian, I can separate these thing in my mind, and believe that the director of NASA acknowledging his own religion in public does not paint either NASA nor the JWST program as "christian"
>>Christianity and the JWST have nothing to do with each other.
and this is where I believe you are wrong to a limited extent, in that religion is a part of the people that worked on JWST, all religions. As such all religions are a part of JWST just as people that do not believe in religion are a part of JWST. Denying this is to deny reality
>>Saying JWST is funded 63% by Christians is false anyway, the other contributors also have some amount of Christian affiliation.
Now you have moved the goal posts, I suspect because you know the foundation of our argumentation is sand that is quickly disappearing out from under you
The statement was limited to American's for which you took offense to what you believed was a statement implying all Americans where Christian, I then clarified the % of funding that could be attributed to American Christians, now you want to move the goal posts to talk about world wide christian contributions. I could do the math if you would like? not sure why that matters but...
>> Further, why choose the religious angle?
I did not choose it, I simply interjected facts into the conversation. I also interjected an opposing Agnostic position to that of Freedom From Religion Atheists that I have grown tired of over the years, something that has caused me to reject the label of "atheist" to describe myself because people that use this label themselves tend to be the most arrogant, toxic people proclaiming some level of moral and intellectual superiority over others. I would rather have a Jehovah Witness at my door telling me that I am going to Hell, than sit in a room with a Freedom From Religion Atheist complaining about some old guy saying "god Bless"
>>This is why the directors messaging is problematic.
Ohh Please, what is problematic is that fact that we have soo strayed away from the idea of Pluralism that people are sooo sensitive, that "political correctness" is soo run amok that we have to make a big deal about some one saying "God Bless" something... Jesus (and yes I did that intentionally) what a farce we have become.
Hell that is not even Christian, the vast vast vast majority of people on this planet believe in a god... Saying "God Bless" should not be "problematic" or offensive. Come On Now
> Christians in our society, or their contribution.
This is not a contribution by Christians the contributions are by taxpayers. Their religious affiliation is irrelevant. In a secular nation like the United States it is inappropriate to conflate the two.
According to a survey from Pew, the number identifying as Christian is 63%. In 2007, the number was 78%.
For some reason it though it was closer to 50. Although, 63% is slightly closer to 50% than 80%, which was the number in the comment above I replied to.
