{"id":13378,"date":"2015-11-09T07:00:11","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/majority-of-americans-say-scientists-dont-have-an-ideological-slant\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:19:52","slug":"majority-of-americans-say-scientists-dont-have-an-ideological-slant","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2015\/11\/09\/majority-of-americans-say-scientists-dont-have-an-ideological-slant\/","title":{"rendered":"Majority of Americans say scientists don\u2019t have an ideological slant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most Americans say they think of scientists as neither politically liberal nor conservative, according to a Pew Research Center survey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

\"Overall,<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

The sharp political divide between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as climate change raises the question of whether a wide range of Americans\u2019 attitudes about science \u2013 and scientists \u2013 are viewed through a political lens.<\/p>\n\n

Our survey<\/a> of 2,002 adults nationwide, conducted in August 2014, suggests that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n\n

Some 64% of Americans perceive scientists as neither liberal nor conservative. Another 24% of adults think scientists are politically liberal and 7% say scientists are politically conservative. While the perception of scientists as politically liberal outnumbers the share saying scientists are conservative, these perceptions are roughly the same as in a 2009 Pew Research survey.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

A majority of both Democrats and Republicans think of scientists in ideologically neutral terms. But the view that scientists are generally liberal has grown among those who are, themselves, near the ends of the political spectrum.<\/p>\n\n

\"Americans<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Some 42% of conservative Republicans think of scientists as politically liberal, up 14 percentage points from 28% in 2009. At the other end of the spectrum, liberal Democrats are also more likely than in 2009 to perceive scientists as generally liberal \u2013 30% do so, up from 21%. The views among other party\/ideology groups have stayed roughly the same over this time period, however.<\/p>\n\n

Our report earlier this year found that even though Americans have become more divided in recent decades into ideological \u201csilos,\u201d the role of politics in views of science topics<\/a> is not uniformly tied to party and ideological differences.<\/p>\n\n

Although Americans\u2019 political leanings do influence their views about issues such as climate change and energy policy, they are much less of a factor when it comes to issues such as food safety, space exploration and biomedicine. At the same time, other factors, such as racial and generational differences, shape the public\u2019s often-complex views on science matters.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

64% of Americans perceive scientists as neither liberal nor 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