Americans are losing faith in science and scientists but still value government investment.
In general, though, only 57% of Americans say science has had a mostly positive effect on society.
While a majority of Americans still have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists and believe science has had a mostly positive impact on society, an increasing minority are expressing solid levels of distrust in scientists and the impact of their work on society, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows.
The study, which includes a survey of 8,842 U.S. adults, was conducted Sept. 25–Oct. 1. Researchers also found that despite the growing distrust of scientists and the impact of their work on society, most Americans still value government investment in the field.
“Despite declines in ratings of scientists and science, many Americans consider government investments in science worthwhile. And most place at least some importance on the United States being a world leader in scientific achievements,” Alec Tyson, associate director of Science and Society Research, and Brian Kennedy, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, wrote.
Nearly 80% of Americans agree that government investments in scientific research are generally beneficial.
In general, though, only 57% of Americans say science has had a mostly positive effect on society. This share is eight percentage points lower than in No2021 and 16 points lower before the dawn of COVID-19.
Some 34% of Americans believe the impact of science on society has been equally favorable, while another 8% say the impact of science on society has been primarily negative.
Even though 73% of U.S. adults noted that they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests, researchers noted that since the early stages of the pandemic, trust in scientists has fallen by 14%.
The share of Americans who said they have tremendous confidence in scientists fell from 39% in 2020 to 23% today.
The share expressing the most substantial level of trust in scientists—saying they have a great deal of confidence in them—has fallen from 39% in 2020 to 23% today, while some 27% of Americans say they have not too much or no confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests. That share was 12% in April 2020.
There has been a general decline in confidence among medical and scientific researchers, particularly among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, in recent years. John Cooper criticizes the infiltration of secular philosophies into Christianity under the guise of “woke” ideology.
Some 38% of. Republicans “now say they have not too much or no confidence at all in scientists to act in the public’s best interests,” according to Pew.
While the study found the decline in confidence in scientists to be more pronounced in Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, the decline was also noticed among Democrats.
In November 2020, the share of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents who had great confidence in scientists was 55%. That share is now 37%.
“But unlike Republicans, a large majority of Democrats (86%) continue to express at least a fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests. The researchers noted that the overall differences in partisan views remain much more pronounced today than before the coronavirus outbreak,” the researchers noted.
While 70% of Republicans said science had a mostly positive effect on society in 2019, less than half, or 47% of that group, now say the same. Some 69% of Democrats say science has had a mostly positive effect on society, but that share is still 8% lower than in 2019.
Despite the declines in public confidence in scientists, 73%, and medical scientists, 77%, Americans still had more trust in them and their work than in public school principals, religious leaders, and police officers.
Among American adults, 69% expressed a great deal or fair amount of confidence in police officers, 65% in public school principals, and 53% in religious leaders.
Most Americans also said they “have little or no confidence” in journalists, business leaders, and elected officials.
