Polarized Scientists? Exploring Political Differences about Religion and Science among U.S. Biologists and Physicists 1

Bibliographic Data

ID12136103
AuthorsSharan Kaur Mehta (0000-0002-9809-0918, Department of Sociology and Religion and Public Life Program Rice University 6100 Main Street, MS‐28 Houston Texas 77005 USA, corresponding author), R A Thomson (0000-0002-1294-1145, Department of Sociology The University of Alabama in Huntsville 301 Sparkman Drive, Morton Hall, Room 248 Huntsville Alabama 35899 USA), E H Ecklund (0000-0002-4501-3329, Department of Sociology and Religion and Public Life Program Rice University 6100 Main Street, MS‐28 Houston Texas 77005 USA)
Year2020
Volume36
Issue1
Pages5-28
Publication date2020-10-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Forum (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0884-8971 • E-ISSN: 1573-7861
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/socf.12661
OpenAlexW3094748878
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited56

From the Texas textbook debate to the March for Science, visible displays of activism illuminate how deeply politicized the science‐religion interface has become. However, little is known about the extent to which scientists’ attitudes about science and religion are politicized. Using original survey data from 1,989 U.S. academic biologists and physicists, we examine the degree to which political views shape how scientists perceive the relationship between religion and science, religious authority, their personal religious identity, and views on dominant scientific theories. Findings suggest that, indeed, the science‐religion interface holds political meaning for scientists, but in different ways across the political spectrum. Specifically, for politically liberal scientists, atheism and the conflict narrative are particularly politicized belief structures, while politically conservative scientists emphasize religious identity to distinguish themselves from political liberals. Findings point to the critical role of politics in shaping scientists’ attitudes and identities, which may have implications for the scientific enterprise, both at the lab bench and in the political sphere

Aesthetics · Atheism · Epistemology · Identity (music · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Ecology, and Ethics · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Tools

Open DOI