Black intellectuals for example tend to almost invariably be historians and sociologists and things like that. Quite often from a black perspective too rather then a general one. Whilst I am sure there are black astronomers, on the whole astronomy doesn’t seem to have much of a role in african-american culture. I think that to many blacks because of the socioeconomic position many of them have, it wouldn’t occur to seriously to many of them to become scientists to begin with.

I do really think they should though. I think black america needs to have scientist representatives as succesful rolemodels.

No asians baffles me. That I don’t understand at all. I’d expect them to be there. I can’t see why not. Sure, there’s differences between whites and asians, but they are smaller I think then between whites and other minorities. Unless maybe their like… very traditionalistic asians. Either way though. I dunno… maybe they have their own skeptic meetings or something?

As for the hispanics… Again the socioeconomic thing. But also the strong catholic influence on hispanic culture. And the extended family bonds they have. Skeptics there would not want to speak up so as not to offend heavily religious family patriarchs and matriarchs and get ostracized from their families.

BA: “not the due of just one race”

Huh? Race? You mean that socially develloped concept of categorizing humans without any scientific evidence* whatsoever?

That from your mouth… sorry: keyboard… I am puzzled.

(39, “white”, beard and hair [and skin, occasionally] shaped and coloured according to performance needs)

*AFAIK…

From Europe’s point of view it is shocking how the American (US) culture is so un-skeptic. Whenever we look for examples about people with foolish believes (I mean UFOs, Big Foot, etc…) it is always the credulity of a big chunck of the US population that shocks us. When we are told that there are school boards even considering teaching creationism or other religious pseudo science in the schools… I mean, that only can happen in the US.

I’m Spanish, I’m an atheist but most my friends and family are believers. In Spain most people consider themselves religious (Catholic) but very few believe in the virginity of Maria, and none that I have never met would say that Adam and Eve is something else but a tale, for example (although I’m sure there must be some).

So rather than asking why there are so few black, hispanic, indian… skepticals, you could ask your self what is in the US society that makes most of its citizens believe in Creationism for example.

By the way, I’m 42, white… and yep, haven’t shaved in two weeeks

On diversity, my wife grew up in China where media and news were all controlled by the central government. As a result, she and virtually all of her college friends back in China are raving skeptics about everything they hear from any media source! So, China and countries with similar governments are spilling over the brim with highly skilled critical thinkers.

In my wife’s case, her skepticism is so inate that she would never consider it a conscious thought process, nor would she explicitly identify herself as a skeptic. She finds it very liberating to be able to conduct her own thoughts in this country without anyone telling her what she is supposed to think (recruitment efforts from local chinese language churches notwithstanding).

The ability not to be legally required to entertain thoughts she is skeptical of is her liberation, and that’s all she needs. She would never feel the personal need to show up at a skeptic meeting. (I would likely have a blast at such a thing myself. Oh, well — maybe I’ll “bach.” it someday if they ever have one in Portland.)

Maybe he was talking about tribal/ethnic divisions? That would make the Zulus the majority, I think. But that doesn’t jive with the 90%.

I think “minority” has almost taken on a generic meaning in the USA as “of non European decent”.

A black engineer I work with likes to call himself a “Chicago-American”.

Brian T: I am an American living here in South Africa (for 9 years now), and yes white male. If it was an American who made that comment, it surprises me, because I feel very much like the minority here. Whoever wrote does sound extremely arrogant, huh?
I must say this country desperately needs a huge dose of skepticism. I have met only a few skeptics of any color, but the black cultures are still extremely superstitious/religious. Please don’t take that to mean all people here are. There are some extremely intelligent and gifted people here that are world class thinkers in many fields. While I am on the subject of brilliant people, I would like to wish Nelson Mandela a happy 89th birthday today.
(Phil may be intersted in this)
We also have SALT, the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere (just google it, there is too much to link to). I caught a bit of the launch speech of SALT by President Thabo Mbeki on the radio. I desperately tried to find a particular part of the speech later because it filled me with hope. Since I did not find it, I will summarize. President Mbeki mentioned that the telescope represented a scientific victory and we should turn away from fantastical thinking and trust in science. Sorry, that is very loose, but I can’t remember his words. I will look again, because it was a real gem.

Seriously though, although I am white; coming from an Armenian ethnic background, I could honestly say that even though there are many non-religious Armenians, very few will openly admit to atheism. It comes down to a cultural taboo of atheism being associated with immorality. Skepticism, although heavily leaning towards authority and social systems, very rarely translates to empirical thinking and scientific reasoning. Ultimately, my guess is that it will take time for certain ethnic groups to experience the zeitgeist of those of us in the skeptical community. With educational opportunities and the erosion of social stigmas, most people will come around. We will soon have a cornucopia of skeptical, follicularly challenged and geeky rationalists spearheading a new social revolution.

In my state in the last 10 years I’ve been involved, there have been no regulars at our events who have not been white. Every blue moon someone asian or middle eastern will attend, but despite their interest, they rarely return. I think this is because for the main part people attend Skeptics events, not entirely for “The Glorious Cause” but to find some sense of community with like-minded people. It’s a lot harder to feel a sense of community when you are blatantly different.

From my experiences travelling and having friends in South East Asia, that region certainly seems steeped in *multiple* religions and superstition, so I’d think that would be a factor, but I don’t feel that totally explains the issue.

Trying to learn more about diversity in skepticism has been an interesting challenge. You’re right about Reggie Finley – he’s contributed as a guest blogger on my blog and has been spreading skepticism in the African American community for many years.

Oh, also, if anyone is interested in contributing to my blog, please contact me via the website – I’m always looking for guest bloggers!

(sigh)

The point is this: the potential for critical thinking can be found in all ethnic groups. Having an honest and open discussion about ways of expanding or including those folks typically missing from the traditional skeptical movement can be a healthy and productive thing. Despite visual or cultural differences, you would be surprised how curious the rest of the world can be.

Perhaps it’s because, statistically, a sort of average young to middle-aged white man is sufficiently comfortable in his life that he can spend time thinking about such things?

And yes, there’s a lot of cultural and religious resistance in my country against skepticism… I, for one, try to spread a little skeptic thinking all around me, with friends, parents, and colleagues. But that’s not enough. We should organize in some way. Way to go Phill! I hope that something good comes out of this post.

Phil: What is your exposure to the skeptical public at large? Is it only at these conferences? Maybe the more accurate question would be why do white men seem to dominate conferences?

Would a reader poll strictly for scientific purpose as to the ethnicity of the body of your readers be hugely inappropriate?