What is Motivated Reasoning? How Does It Work? Dan Kahan Answers

I recently came across this post at Science & Religion Today, authored by Dan Kahan, who is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor at Yale Law School. It clarifies so many important issues about motivated reasoning--what it is, what it isn't--that I asked Kahan if I could repost it here, as I think it deserves very wide circulation. He said okay. So here goes: