Study: Conservatives' Trust of Science Hits All Time Low

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Follow the money.
Pure science is easy to support by liberals and conservatives alike - excluding religion and political influence - and "scientists" and their supporters that are bought and paid for.
Unfortunately - most of what people are exposed to in science these days relates to man-made global warming - where hundreds of millions of dollars are funneled into studies that are designed to support the theory and further liberal goals for wealth transfer and re-shaping the world.
The decline of trust just shows that conservatives are smart enough to understand that when probably 90+% of funding flows to support studies that support liberal agendas - and when the associated educational establishment and media are perhaps 90% liberal - factual, unbiased information will not be forthcoming.
The trust factor would probably be lower if more liberals weren't so close-minded and actually evaluated the news. One might think liberals generally just lack intellectual curiosity. In reality though, it's probably just a matter of trying to fit-in with their "PC" peers and be good liberals - that just accept what their being fed by the well-funded establishment.

Gary Zimmermann of WI 12:05AM April 01, 2012

“The charge that conservatives do not believe in science is based on a study derived from the General Social Survey (GSS), 1972 to 2010 (Smith et al. 2011). The GSS was administered annually between 1972 and 1994 (except 1979 and 1992) and biannually since 1994.
The GSS asked respondents the following question: “I am going to name some institutions in this country. As far as the people running these institutions are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them the Scientific Community?” Respondents were then given the choice to respond “a great deal,” “only some,” or “hardly any” (they could also choose “don’t know” or “refuse”).
That's not a question about confidence in science, but about confidence in scientists and their organizations. And conservatives know full well how politicized many scientists and science journalists -- such as Jason Koebler -- have become.

Quiet Professional of AK 11:57PM March 31, 2012

Conservatives (and anyone else for that matter) who "don't believe in science" should not use science. They should throw away their cars, cellphones, televisions, computers, watches, medicines etc.
Of course, they're not going to do that which means it's perfectly legitimate to call them hypocrites.
A few points to ponder;
1. The world's economy is almost exclusively driven by science.
2. The standard of living that we in the developed nations enjoy (and those in developing nations seek) is the result of science.
3. Many conservative 'sacred cows' (free market capitalism, military dominance etc.) are entirely dependent on science.
4. When a 'non-believer' says to me that the NASA budget is a waste of money, I tell them that's utter nonsense. The money spent on NASA (less than one half of one percent of the national budget) has re-payed itself many, many times over in the form of taxes and economic growth, not to mention quality of life. Cell phones, personal computers and the GPS devices we use to find the nearest pizza joint or blow up terrorists are a few of the many thousands of direct descendants of the space program.
5. Science vs. God is a false argument. Science and religion are not diametrically opposed or mutually exclusive. Many scientists are also religious. Many would argue that science and reason are God's gift to mankind so that we may better appreciate His work.
6. If you find yourself in a discussion/argument with a science denier, try and keep it civil. Use logic and reason instead of insults and name calling.
7. Never, ever vote for a science denier. I personally enjoy living in the 21st century and am not at all nostalgic for the 11th.

bobtuce of AZ 11:04PM March 31, 2012

Can we say that this is why America Is the stupidest country in the worlds science can be proven religon was created by man ran by men the only god is the personal savior that they created in their on minds based on 0 fact or research the only god is the matrix of matter we can be considered demi-gods we can bring life an take it religon only creates a mind that dosent fear death an with no fear of death how can you respect death religon creats unbalanced minds an unbalaced minds in a unbalanced world creates chaos alot of people dont even know were their religon even comes from like christianity "A" it was started by a women to honor the life of christ an his cause an their movement was a sort of get down or lay down situation if you ask me from different studies their decendents are the illumaniti whom later became the knights templer whom were the pilgrims and free masons that in slaved africans from africa an forced the beliefs on them an soon after generation after generation being feed the same story how can they beleave anything else when these things have been enbedded into the minds religon if you ask me is a way of controling minds thru fear its like how can another mind tell me what god said if he has never seen god or even spoken to him he is basing his claims off a book an his own mind without finding out the truth were dose this book come from lots of people dont even know their are so many books missing from the king james bible meaning the book is in complete meaning your life is incomplete so instead of seeking out the truth they sit there in church a listen to what someone else has to say about how they should live their lives see its like that story of a ghost named philip ............

Theoretical Physicist of TX 9:00PM March 31, 2012

Conservatives shouldn't trust this study. It has been done by a scientist.

D Lee of IN 8:03PM March 31, 2012

Reality has a liberal bias.

JR of CA 7:53PM March 31, 2012

Especially low marks for climate schience. Global warming may be happening as it has many times in the past. But the current hockey stick crowd is totally full of BS.

CHL of AZ 7:43PM March 31, 2012

At the point that a Wikipedia editor said "The Science is settled", mainstream globalist science became a religion.

Tobrey Masteaf of AL 4:24PM March 31, 2012

These so called scientists are really just stealth Democrat party hacks.

Joseph of HI 4:02PM March 31, 2012

I am comforted to find out that Liberals never lie and that scientists never have their own agenda. If a Democrat or scientist make a statement, it most definitely will always be true...

jeff of CA 3:24PM March 31, 2012