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Study: Conservatives' Trust of Science Hits All Time Low

A sociologist at UNC-Chapel Hill says more people are moving to a conservative "anti-intellectual" ideology, and more people than ever are lumping scientific and political agendas together.

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March 29, 2012 RSS Feed Print

"I think this is the new reality. The number of conservatives is growing," he says. "I think that there's a cultural clash that's occurring now, and I think there's a fundamental issue. Science has been dependent on the government for funding since World War II. Does that arrangement change if we're electing more conservative politicians?"

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Thank you Mr. Koebler for saying exactly what any real conservative is thinking. In these times it is almost embarrassing to admit to being a conservative, due to of all of the religious Tea Party-ers who wouldn't know Barry Goldwater from LBJ. I too agree that when the Goldwater-era ended and the Reagan-era began our country experience a monumental shift in the Right from an intellectual and quizative party to an ignorant one. I only hope that one day things will return to they way they were.

Jane Smith of DC 9:58PM April 24, 2012

The study DOES NOT say conservatives are losing faith in science, it says conservatives are losing faith in the scientific community. And why shouldn't they when you have someone like Gauchat who is willing to confuse the two just to make a political point?

And then he goes WAY beyond the boundaries of the study to speculate on why conservatives are losing faith in "science." Incredible.

Meanwhile, in the news:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former researcher at Amgen Inc has found that many basic studies on cancer -- a high proportion of them from university labs -- are unreliable, with grim consequences for producing new medicines in the future.

alloallo3 of WA 12:02AM April 08, 2012

The larger picture here for me is the overall lack of education/awareness of what science is all about. I suspect that many of those who distrust science are simply ignorant of basic scientific fundamentals. I do not personally hold much stock in the opinions of such individuals. In my opinion, our government, which in America is charged with the general welfare of the population, should be more involved in mandating that all citizens obtain a basic general scientific education so they are capable of making realistic assumptions. Allowing High School students to opt out of science classes and still graduate is not the way to produce well-informed citizens. Clearly, the conservative right is working hard to restrict access of students to science out of fears such knowledge will undermine Christian beliefs. It is a case if ignorance and fear perpetuating more ignorance and fear... passing it on to each new generation. This is precisely the opposite of what should be happening. Each new generation should be more aware and educated in the workings of our natural world than the last in order to accurately reflect the continually expanding scientific awareness of nature that is taking place all the time. Obviously, this is not happening for a significant percentage of our population in America where ignorance of science is considered a worthy goal by so many religious fools. (Many other countries do NOT have this problem.)

Michael Jaquish of WA 12:23PM April 04, 2012

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