《中英對照讀新聞》Study shows why religious people always think they are right 研究顯示為何宗教信徒總是自以為是

◎陳正健

Religious people "cling" to certain beliefs in the face of evidence because those views are closely tied to their moral compasses, new studies have suggested.

新研究指出，宗教信徒在面對證據時會「堅持」某些信念，因為這些見解與他們的道德羅盤緊密相關。

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Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio interviewed 900 religious and non-religious people in two studies examining personality characteristics that drive dogmatism. The studies surveyed people who identified as atheist, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, and of 19 other religions.

俄亥俄州凱斯西儲大學的研究人員，在兩項研究中訪問900名宗教信徒和非宗教信徒，檢視驅使獨斷主義的人格特質。這些研究調查被視為無神論者、基督徒、印度教徒、佛教徒、猶太教徒、穆斯林及其他19種宗教的信徒。

In both groups, they found people with higher critical reasoning skills were less staunch in their beliefs. But they differed in how moral concerns influence their thinking. The religious dogmatist’s mind appears to be dominated by empathy, while the atheist’s is ruled by the analytic network.

他們在兩個群組中發現，較具批判性推理技巧的人，比較不會堅持己見。但他們在道德關注如何影響思考上有所不同。宗教獨斷論者的心智顯然由同理心支配，無神論者則由分析網絡控制。

Dogmatic individuals hold confidently to their faith even when contradicted by experts because those beliefs have "emotional resonance". In contrast, militant atheists struggle to see anything positive about religion because their brains are dominated by analytical thinking, researchers said.

研究人員表示，武斷的人自信地堅守他們的信仰，即便與專家牴觸，因為這些信念有「情緒共鳴」。相較之下，好戰的無神論者難以正向看待宗教，因為他們的大腦由批判性思考主導。

新聞辭典

dogmatism：名詞，獨斷主義，教條主義。例句：Dogmatism is a way of thinking that is stubborn and narrow-minded.（獨斷主義是固執且狹隘的思考方式。）

staunch：形容詞，堅定的，忠誠的。例句：He gained a reputation as being a staunch defender of civil rights.（他因為做為一個堅定的人權捍衛者而獲得聲譽。）

resonance：名詞，共鳴，諧振。例句：His voice had lost its resonance because it was strained.（他的聲音因為緊張而失去共鳴。）