cafeteria Catholic

Definition

Applied academically to scholars who selectively embrace only the theories, methodologies, or evidence that support their predetermined conclusions while ignoring contradictory data. Named for Catholics who pick and choose which church teachings to follow.

Example Usage

He's a cafeteria Catholic about research methods—loves qualitative data when it supports his thesis but demands quantitative rigor from critics.

Origin

Religious discourse adapted to academic methodology debates

Fun Fact

The phenomenon reflects confirmation bias, which even trained researchers struggle to overcome despite methodological training.

Source: Research methodology and epistemology discussions

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