Empirical Tests of Moral Conflict for the Religious Public

This chapter puts three types of possible moral conflict theory to an empirical test. The first is conflict over which institution will set the meaning and purpose of society. The analyses show that religious people are in this type of conflict with science. The second type of moral conflict is over the implicit moral claims of some scientific claims, such as Darwinism. Does Darwinism teach a morality to the public? The analyses show that many religious groups are also in this type of conflict. The third type of conflict is over technology, such as medical technology having to do with embryonic stem cells or genetic modification of humans. The chapter concludes by showing that religious people are not opposed to technology per se, but rather on how technology is to be used, which is a moral issue.