How much do Americans trust science? Confidence wanes — but politics matter, poll says

Americans’ trust in science has declined over the past few decades, with a new poll showing that confidence in science is tied to politics.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said in a new Gallup survey that they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of trust in science, compared to 70% of U.S. adults who said the same when Gallup asked in 1975. The poll found that while Republicans had more trust in science than Democrats in 1975, the opposite is now true.

Forty-five percent of Republicans said in the 2021 poll they trust science — a large dip from the 72% of Republicans who said the same in 1975.

Democrats, meanwhile, experienced an uptick in trusting science. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats in the most recent Gallup survey signaled strong confidence in science, up from 67% of Democrats more than 4 decades earlier.

“Recent disagreements between Republicans and Democrats about the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, the effectiveness of face masks as a COVID-19 prevention measure and the necessity of COVID-19 vaccines have raised questions about the extent to which each group believes in science, more generally,” Gallup researchers wrote.

Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, have criticized or pushed back against many COVID guidelinesadvocated for by scientific experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, now-chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden.

Surveys have showed that unvaccinated Americans and those who don’t want to get COVID shots tend to be Republican. A June survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that among unvaccinated people in the U.S., 49% are Republican compared to 29% who identify as Democrats.

Differences in confidence in science have also varied by education level. For instance, 72% of college graduates said they have trust in science compared to 60% of college non-graduates, according to Gallup. Among Democrats, 91% of those with a bachelor’s degree said they were confident in science compared to 70% of Democrats without a traditional four-year degree.

“Republican mistrust may stem from conservative thought leaders’ allegations of liberal bias in the scientific community, perhaps because colleges and universities employ many scientists,” Gallup researchers wrote. “Republicans also mistrust colleges and universities and cite a liberal political agenda as the reason for that lack of trust.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 1:10 PM with the headline "How much do Americans trust science? Confidence wanes — but politics matter, poll says."