ringo writes:
Your quote doesn't say anything of the kind. It says that a disproportionate number of scientists were Puritans.
It says that and more. Here’s what Barbour wrote:
Seven out of ten members of the Royal Society were Puritans--a ratio far out of proportion to the population as a whole; most of the virtuosi were active churchmen, and many of the clergy encouraged or themselves took part in scientific pursuits.
If you think that this was simply a reflection of society, you must believe that in society at large, most people were ACTIVE churchmen?
I don’t believe this to be the case in 17th century England. I think it is unlikely, even in the most religious societies, that MOST people are ACTIVE churchmen.
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." — Albert Einstein
I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is very deficient. It gives us a lot of factual information, puts all of our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity. Science sometimes pretends to answer questions in these domains, but the answers are very often so silly that we are not inclined to take them seriously. — Erwin Schroedinger