In the "Attachment therapy vs Attachment parenting" topic D.R.B. provided a link to Professor Simon Blackburn's critique of Steven Pinker's The Blank Slake. Simon Blackburn discussed cognitive psychology's doctrine of the 'modular mind', which he referred to as "the Swiss army knife picture of the mind." Along the same lines, the BBC News website has an article reporting the findings of Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, a leading autism researcher, in which he says scientists score higher in autism spectrum traits.My own personal theory (maybe others have written books with the same theory) is that it's a backlash against that sector of the scientific community who claim to know everything worth knowing about human nature by doing genetic research and cognitive science.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4661402.stm
I also came across a PDF document from the John Templeton Foundation: The Science and Religion Dialogue: Why It Matters."He believes the genes which make some analytical may also impair their social and communication skills. ... ...they also tend to be less interested in the social side of life..."
The Templeton Foundation offers an annual prize for spiritual discoveries:"Watson wrote an influential child-rearing manual recommending the parents establish rigid feeding schedules for their children and give them a minimum of attention and love. So these kinds of views from psychologists, which dehumanize human beings, resulted in children being denied the affection, which is crucial to their growing up in a happy way and developing as full human beings. So this is old hat you say, there aren't many behaviorists left nowadays so why does that matter? On the contrary. Present day neuroscience is in exactly the same danger or resulting in exactly the same kind of approach to human beings."
http://www.templetonprize.org/purpose.html
I think scientists who put forward mechanistic explanations of human behavior have a lot to answer for when it comes to the resurgence of religious fundamentalism."Just as knowledge in science, medicine, cosmology and other disciplines has grown exponentially during the past century, the Templeton Prize honors and encourages the many entrepreneurs trying various ways for discoveries and breakthroughs to expand human perceptions of divinity and to help in the acceleration of divine creativity. ... ...this award is intended to encourage the concept that resources and manpower are needed to accelerate progress in spiritual discoveries, which can help humans to learn more than a hundredfold more about divinity."
* Mojo *