Recently we went through a lengthy debate on the subject of interference by scientists in religious matters. As matters stand, I doubt that scientists will have much success in influencing people's religious inclinations. Politicians and religious ideologues on the other hand, have done real harm in the area of scientific query and research. It is not a new phenomenon for scientists to face fierce resistance from obscurantists whenever the apple cart of fondly held religious and political ideologies and superstitions is about to be upset by a new scientific discovery. What is astounding is that it continues to happen in the twenty first century. Here is a compendium of politically and religiously motivated meddling in recent years in the form of a Periodic Table of scientific abuses. (Link provided by A.B. blogger Dean C. Rowan)
"The United States government bears great responsibility for keeping our environment clean and Americans healthy and safe. And while science is rarely the only factor in public policy decisions, this input should be objective and impartial.
In recent years, however, scientists who work for and advise the federal government have seen their work manipulated, suppressed, distorted, while agencies have systematically limited public and policy maker access to critical scientific information. To document this abuse, the Union of Concerned Scientists has created the A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science."
Note: Go to the linked page. Every "element" of the Periodic Table will take you to an article describing how a particular scientific finding or research effort was tampered with for the sake of a political and /or religious agenda.
Update: Here is yet another report of censorship of scientific research and communication by the Bush administration.
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