Predicting Science Denial Through Religious Intolerance

Author: PNAS Nexus
Published: 2024/04/30 - Updated: 2025/03/07
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Findings
Category Topic: Disability and Religion - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This peer-reviewed report investigates the correlation between religious intolerance and the rejection of scientific findings. The authors hypothesize that individuals exhibiting high levels of religious intolerance are more prone to deny science, viewing it as a competing belief system. Utilizing local religious diversity as a proxy for tolerance, the study reveals that U.S. counties with greater religious diversity practiced more social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, countries with higher religious diversity scored better on international science assessments and were less likely to favor religion over science for truth. Surveys among Christians in the U.S., Hindus in India, and Muslims in Pakistan indicated that those intolerant of other religions also reported higher levels of science denial. These insights are valuable for understanding the dynamics between religious tolerance and science acceptance, offering implications for public health strategies, especially for communities including people with disabilities and seniors - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

Yu Ding and colleagues hypothesize that people with high levels of religious intolerance are more likely to reject science, which can be conceptualized as a competing belief system. The authors used local religious diversity as a proxy for religious tolerance, reasoning that where religious diversity is lacking, religious tolerance will be low.

Main Content

Among the Findings

Aggregated cellphone location data revealed that religiously diverse US counties engaged in more social distancing in April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, even when controlled for the percentage of religious people in each county. Vaccination uptake followed a similar pattern.

Countries around the world with higher religious diversity showed higher scores on a high school science test known as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Countries with higher religious diversity were less likely to say that religion is a better guide to truth than science when filling out the World Values Survey.

In surveys of Christians from the United States, Hindus from India, and Muslims from Pakistan, those who described themselves as intolerant of other religions also reported higher levels of science denial.

According to the authors, there have always been religious believers at the forefront of science, but usually those from minority faiths who have wide exposure to people of other faiths.

The authors note that people who don't have exposure to individuals of other faiths can grow up regarding their religion as the one true faith that trumps all others - and also trumps science.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by PNAS Nexus and published on 2024/04/30, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.