When the One True Faith Trumps All: Low Religious Diversity, Religious Intolerance, and Science Denial
Author: PNAS Nexus
Published: 2024/04/30
Post type: Findings – Peer Reviewed: Yeah
Content: Summary – Major – Related Posts
Synopsis: Does being more religious make a person more likely to reject scientific findings, or is the level of intolerance toward other religions that best predicts rejection of science? The authors point out that people who are not exposed to people of other religions can grow up considering their religion as the one true faith that surpasses all others, and also science.
Main summary
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 an indicator of religious tolerance, reasoning that where religious diversity is lacking, religious tolerance will be low.
Among the findings
Aggregate cell phone location data revealed that religiously diverse US counties practiced greater social distancing in April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, even when controlling for the percentage of religious people in each county. Vaccination adoption followed a similar pattern.
Countries around the world with greater religious diversity showed higher scores on a high school science test known as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
Countries with greater religious diversity were less likely to say that religion is a better guide to truth than science when completing the World Values Survey.
In surveys of Christians in the United States, Hindus in India, and Muslims in 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 religions who have extensive exposure to people of other religions.
The authors point out that people who are not exposed to people of other religions can grow up considering their religion as the one true faith that surpasses all others, and also science…
Similar articles of interest
Attribution/Source(s):
This peer-reviewed publication titled “Predicting Science Denial through Religious Intolerance” was chosen for publication by Disabled World editors because of its relevance to our readers in the disability community. While content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity, it was originally written by PNAS Nexus and published on 04/30/2024. For more details or clarifications, you can contact PNAS Nexus directly at pnas.org. Please note that Disabled World does not provide any warranty or endorsement related to this item.
📢 Discover related topics
👍 Share this information with:
𝕏.com Facebook Reddit
Page information, citations and disclaimer
Disabled World is an independent disability community founded in 2004 to provide disability news and information to disabled people, older people, their families and/or carers. You can connect with us on social media like X.com and ours Facebook page.
Cite this page (APA): PNAS Nexus. (2024, April 30). Predict science denial through religious intolerance. Disabled world. Retrieved April 30, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/communication/religion/science-denial.php
Permanent link: Predict science denial through religious intolerance: Does being more religious make a person more likely to reject scientific findings, or is the level of intolerance toward other religions that better predicts rejection of science.
Disabled World provides general information only. The materials presented are never intended to be a substitute for qualified professional medical care. Any third party offers or advertisements do not constitute an endorsement.
