The Most Scientific Religion

Which is the most scientific religion? Are your ears dying to hear the name of the one which you follow or love? You will get your answer soon, which hopefully, does not break your heart.

Before answering the question, let us discuss a systematic error in thinking. It must be noted that an error in a logical argument is not the same as an error in thinking. Well, are you suffering from a trait that causes you to think erroneously? Here are some signs.

1. You only pay attention to news stories that confirm your opinions.
2. You blame outside factors when things don’t go your way.
3. You attribute other people’s success to luck, but take personal credit for your own accomplishments.
4. You learn a little about a topic and then assume that you know all there is to know about it.

This systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgment is called cognitive bias.

Let us delve a bit more into this amusing topic of cognitive bias in relation to politics and try to roughly understand its types (in the political arena, as published by Predict It) which can distort your thinking.

Confirmation Bias
This is favoring or seeking information that affirms your pre-existing beliefs. You even tend to discount the evidence that does not back up your beliefs.

Coverage Bias
The extent to which different issues are reported and discussed. This bias can be systematically applied in order to sway public opinion in favor of one side.

Concision Bias
This is selectively focusing information, losing nuance (a subtle difference in meaning.)

Authority Bias
We’re more likely to be influenced by ideas that come from authority figures.

Availability Cascade
An idea accumulates more credibility as it spreads. For example, religion.

Declinism
We romanticize the past and believe that society and institutions are in decline. For example, considering the legalization of lesbian marriage to be a corruption of morality.

Framing Effect
We draw different conclusions based on how an idea is presented to us. For example, Anchor A: “Government increases military spending in a renewed commitment to veterans.” Anchor B: “Amid record levels of debt, military spending balloons yet again.”

Groupthink
Conforming to a widely held world view in order to fit in and minimize conflict. For example, “I don’t like the person running for MP, but I can’t really vote for the other party. My family would disown me.”

False Consensus
Overestimating the proportion of people who agree with an idea. For example, “I think the majority of people are in support of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Everyone I know thinks so.”

Halo Effect
Our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about his or her character. For example, “He is too truthful to be a politician.”

Dunning-Kruger Effect
The less you know, the more confident you are. For example, “Don’t see why we can’t just print more money to pay the debt down.”

Now, if you are suffering from these cognitive biases then, of course, the religion you follow is the most scientific (though in fact, none of the religions have their grounds on science) and plausible world view just like your political views.