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byrnema comments on Belief in Belief - Less Wrong
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Oh yes, 'Belief in Belief', recalled vividly as I reread it.* I liked this post (up-voted). It's a bit of physical-materialist solidarity-building, an opportunity taken to poke fun at the out-group. The material being made fun of is taken out of context only to the extent that material coherent to one world-view is transplanted without translation to another.
As Eliezer aptly put it,
The thing is, not everyone owns this. The out-group you're making fun of doesn't. The appeal of this view is the paradigmatic strength of physical materialism.
No one has mentioned the idea of dual magisteria as a better explanation for this behavior in these comments until now: that no evidence is expected for the dragon because the dragon isn't just invisible, its existence is non-empirical.
John Mark Rozendaal simultaneously gets the paradigm difference and dismisses it:
This is an especially useful quote because it highlights how many religious groups (John's background was Calvinist) realize their beliefs are non-empirical and find this virtuous. That's why they say they believe in one God, rather than know of one God -- faith in something non-empirical isn't just tolerated, it's what their faith is about.
* I was about to link to the post 'Belief in Belief' and then realized this is where I am .. these Less Wrong worm holes take some getting used to!
I am in occasional contact with religious people, and they don't behave as the "separate magisteria" hypothesis would predict.
For instance, I have heard things along the following lines: "I hope my son gets better." "Well, that's not in your hands, that's in God's hands." All this said quite matter-of-factly.
There is active denial here of something that belongs in the magisterium of physical cause and effect, and active presumption of interference from the supposedly separate magisterium of faith.
Of course most of those people back down from the most radical consequences of these beliefs, they still go see a doctor when the situation warrants - although I understand a significant number do see conflict (or at least interaction) between their faith and medical interventions such as organ transplants or blood transfusions.
This isn't just an epiphenomenal dragon, it's a dragon whose proscriptions and prescriptions impinge on people's material lives.
I do not think this is the best example you could have given, because it can be interpreted -- and often is meant as -- just a version of the Serenity Prayer.
Much worse is when people promise to pray for you, or advise you to pray, as though this will improve the chances of everything turning out OK. In these cases, I try to just focus on their good intentions; that they will pray for me because they do care. However, sometimes I really do get quite upset with having to pretend that I'm grateful for and satisfied with their prayers when perhaps I would like more sympathy and emotional support or pragmatic help.