Science knowledge and biblical literalism

Abstract

Biblical literalists are often described as scientific illiterates, but little if any empirical research has tested this claim. Analysis of a sixteen-item battery from the 2008 US General Social Survey revealed that literalists possess less science knowledge than those with other views of Scripture, but that much of this deficit can be attributed to demographic factors and unequal educational attainment. The marginal direct effect of biblical belief suggests that literalism is not incompatible with knowledge of science and, therefore, the best avenue for increasing science knowledge among literalists may be to foster interest in science and design science courses to attenuate any perceived conflict between science and religion.

Biblical literalism among Anglican clergy: what is the role of psychological type?

“…In North America literalism has been used as an indicator of political affiliation (Jelen, 1989a(Jelen, , 1989bLeege, 1989;Smidt, 1989) and a wide range of mainly 'right wing' attitudes and beliefs (Bader & Froese, 2005;Burn & Busso, 2005;Cottone, Drucker, & Javier, 2007;Crapanzano;Kellstedt, 1989;Marty, 1994;Wilcox, 1989;Zigerell). Biblical literalism is associated with conservative Protestant denominations, whose members are inclined to vote Republican and have conservative attitudes toward abortion, the role of women, capital or corporal punishment, and sexuality.…”

Separation of church and space: Religious influences on public support for U.S. space exploration policy

“…Specifically, do religious behavior, beliefs, and salience affect these views? H3: Based on the perceived animosity between religious faith and science, I anticipate that worship attendance, traditional religious beliefs, and the importance of religion will all negatively affect space and space policy views [55,57,58]. If Nadeau's [30] findings are correct, though, worship attendance may not exert a statistically significant effect.…”

“…In particular, Evangelicals stand out as expressing an animosity for the science of origins and other politically charged topics including climate change and stem cell research [56]. Furthermore, Zigerell [57] found that biblical literalists, a category to which many conservative Evangelicals would belong, possess less science knowledge than those holding other views of the Bible (also see Ref. [58]).…”

Are Biological Science Knowledge, Interests, and Science Identity Framed by Religious and Political Perspectives in the United States?

“…Perhaps more important than the association between religious affiliation and seeking science education is the finding that differences in science outcomes by political and religious groups persist after adjusting for level of education (Miller 2010;Sherkat 2011;Sturgis and Allum 2004). In addition to education, other studies find that the association between religious affiliation and science knowledge does not persist after controlling for demographic characteristics (Zigerell 2012). Miller (2010) and Sherkat (2017), however, both find that more religiously conservative individuals have lower science opinions and trust after adjusting for age, gender, and socioeconomic status.…”