Believing and Doubting in Science and Religion
Exploring Attitudes among Mexican Religious ‘Nones’
Abstract
This paper aims to explore the non-religious population (“nones”) in Mexico, with an emphasis on their attitudes toward religion and science. According to the national census in Mexico, the “nones” represent 10.6% of the total population, i.e., 13.3 million individuals (INEGI, 2020). Religion is a central discourse for the unaffiliated identity. When analysing the reasons individuals give to explain their religious disaffiliation, findings in the Mexican context show common attitudes, such as criticism of religion, autonomy, and indifference. The role of science, on the other hand, also frequently appears within the non-religious narrative, especially as a validation of the irreligious position. However, the incorporation of science is neither univocal nor unidirectional. This work elaborates further on some identified attitudes, such as: believing in science, science as a horizontal discourse, and the critique of the scientific realm as a dominant ideology. Following the postulate that individuals cope with social reality using religious and secular positions in different parts of their lives, this paper also suggests that religious and secular discourses, such as science, can coexist and converge in plural identities—especially in a cultural context such as the Mexican, defined by its baroque ethos.
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