benlehman: (Default)
benlehman ([personal profile] benlehman) wrote2009-07-06 10:44 am

Reading a report on religious practice and science

Reading a report on religious practice and science for a class presentation.

Interesting things:
* Around %50 of scientists at top-level American universities report having religious beliefs. Around %70 say that they have some "spirituality."

* The "hard sciences" report more religion than the "soft sciences" report more religion than the "social sciences." The least religious science is psychology. The most is chemistry.

* Scientists are less religious than the population as a whole. The only Christian denomination represented more among scientists than the population at large is "liberal protestant." Several minority religions are over-represented among scientists by 2-3x : Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus. If you consider Atheism a religion, it is also over-represented, about on the same scale as Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

I'd really like to see a cross-comparison by social class and income bracket, but the study didn't have one.

[identity profile] benlehman.livejournal.com 2009-07-07 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Here's the study: http://religion.ssrc.org/reforum/Ecklund.pdf

There's a lot of ways that it could be expanded. I'd like to see it based on income bracket or other class markers. But it's a landmark study regardless.