{"id":198702,"date":"2025-02-26T06:09:14","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T11:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=198702"},"modified":"2025-10-28T14:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T18:49:29","slug":"religion-and-views-of-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religion-and-views-of-science\/","title":{"rendered":"23. Religion and views of science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The question of whether science and religion are at odds or generally compatible has long been a topic of interest to philosophers, theologians and scientists, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Religious Landscape Study (RLS), we asked respondents whether science and religion are \u201cmostly in conflict\u201d or \u201cmostly compatible,\u201d and Americans are basically split on this topic. Half of U.S. adults say that science and religion are mostly in conflict, while 47% say that science and religion are mostly compatible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more religious they are, the more likely Americans are to say science and religion are mostly compatible. The less<\/em> religious they are, the more likely they are to see conflict between science and religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Americans with low levels of religious engagement, 73% say science and religion are mostly in conflict, roughly twice the share of highly religious Americans who take the same position (35%).[83. numoffset=”83″ To measure levels of religious engagement, we created a scale based on four questions about prayer frequency, belief in God and\/or a universal spirit, religion\u2019s importance and religious service attendance. Each question was coded from 0 (low) to 2 (high). Prayer frequency is coded as 0 for those who seldom or never pray, 2 for those who pray daily, and 1 for everyone else. Belief in God\/a universal spirit is coded as 0 for those who do not believe in God or a universal spirit, 2 for those who believe with absolute certainty, and 1 for everyone else. Religion\u2019s importance is coded as 0 for those who say religion is \u201cnot too important\u201d or \u201cnot at all important\u201d in their lives, 2 for those who say religion is \u201cvery important\u201d in their lives, and 1 for everyone else. Religious attendance is coded as 0 for those who say they seldom or never attend religious services, 2 for those who attend religious services at least once a month, and 1 for everyone else. These indicators were added together to form a scale ranging from 0 to 8, and then subdivided roughly into quartiles (scores of 0 to 1 in the lowest quartile, scores of 2 to 4 in the medium-low quartile, scores of 5 to 6 in the medium-high quartile, and scores of 7 to 8 in the highest quartile).]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey also finds that Americans of all religious backgrounds are more likely to view science as beneficial than as harmful for American society. About half of U.S. adults (52%) say science does \u201cmore good than harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just 7% of Americans overall say that science does \u201cmore harm than good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, 39% say science does \u201cequal amounts of good and harm.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, most Americans do not expect science to have answers to everything. Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. adults say \u201cthere are some things that science cannot possibly explain.\u201d About three-in-ten say \u201cthere is a scientific explanation for everything, even if we don\u2019t understand how everything works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even most Americans with positive views about science\u2019s impact believe that science cannot explain everything. About six-in-ten who say science does more good than harm also say there are some things that science cannot possibly explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about how religious groups answer questions about:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n