Why Being Right Doesn’t Make You Good: The Representation of Science and Religion in South Park

IF 0.1 0 RELIGION
Edward Thomas Bankes
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Abstract

Recent scholarship, particularly within the sphere of science communication, has sought to provide an empirical map of the relationship between science and religion, often seeking to explain the persistence of religious belief and practice within a technoscientific world. The framing of science and religion in this context often presumes that the social relevance of both science and religion lies primarily in the epistemic claims both make about the natural world and can be captured through explicit discussion of the relationship between the two. This article argues that other meanings of science and religion are possible by highlighting a case that appears to have little interest in questions of reality and epistemology: the animated comedy South Park. Within the show, scientific and religious discourse and imagery are frequently positioned as being enmeshed within larger social issues, gaining meaning from the ways in which the characters use knowledge for a variety of ends, usually resulting in moral failure. As a story about how to be a good American, South Park positions science and religion as sites where morality can be tested, mediated by a sense of goodness that is presented to the audience as self-evident. While the generality of this specific construction of science and religion can be challenged, the show illustrates the need for a broader or more extensive examination of the multiple meanings that science and religion might have within the public sphere and popular culture, which are far broader than a specific discussion of their epistemic relationship.
为什么正确不会让你变得好:科学与宗教在南方公园的代表
最近的学术研究,特别是在科学传播领域,试图提供科学与宗教之间关系的经验图,通常试图解释宗教信仰和实践在技术科学世界中的持久性。在这种背景下,科学和宗教的框架通常假定科学和宗教两者的社会相关性主要在于两者对自然世界的认识论主张,并且可以通过明确讨论两者之间的关系来捕捉。这篇文章认为,通过强调一个似乎对现实和认识论问题不感兴趣的案例,科学和宗教的其他含义是可能的:动画喜剧《南方公园》。在剧中,科学和宗教话语和意象经常被定位为融入更大的社会问题中,从角色将知识用于各种目的的方式中获得意义,通常会导致道德失败。作为一个关于如何成为一个好美国人的故事,《南方公园》将科学和宗教定位为可以测试道德的场所,通过一种不言自明的善良感来调解。虽然科学和宗教这一特定结构的普遍性可能会受到挑战,但该节目表明,有必要对科学和宗教在公共领域和流行文化中可能具有的多重含义进行更广泛或更广泛的研究,这些含义远比对其认识关系的具体讨论更广泛。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Journal of Religion and Popular Culture
Journal of Religion and Popular Culture Arts and Humanities-Religious Studies
CiteScore
0.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
27
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