Threatening Morality: Religious and Political Opposition to Science in the United States

Abstract

Recent research suggests that religious opposition to science in the United States is rooted in a belief that science threatens morality. We test this claim using a survey of United States adults (n = 3,763). Regression results indicate that the religious are more likely than the nonreligious to believe that science breaks down people's understanding of right and wrong, which we call moral opposition to science. However, the strength of this relationship varies by political ideologies. While moral opposition to science is relatively high among conservatives regardless of religiosity, secular and religious liberals differ widely in their beliefs about science's moral meaning. In fact, moral opposition to science among religious liberals is nearly as high as it is among secular conservatives. These findings accentuate the moral dimension of the science–religion interface and they underscore the importance of religion for understanding political opposition to science.