The media often portrays scientists and Christians as incapable of peaceful coexistence. But results from a recent survey suggest the two are not as incompatible as one might think. In fact, 2 million out of nearly 12 million scientists are evangelical Christians. If you were to bring all the evangelical scientists together, they could populate the city of Houston, Texas.
Sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund and her colleagues at Rice University and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) reported results from the largest study of American views on science and religion at the association’s annual conference in Chicago on Sunday, February 16. More than 10,000 people, including 574 self-identified as scientists, responded to the 75-question survey. Among the scientists, 17 percent said the term “evangelical” describes them “somewhat” or “very well,” compared to 23 percent of all respondents.
So often people think of being a scientist and a Christians as being incompatible. This article clearly shows that is not true for about 2 million scientists. I am glad to be both a Christian, someone who has degrees in science and has worked in research labs. I find the two are very compatible. I would love to know how the numbers of believers among scientists (and it is rather loosely defined in the article) compare to those with backgrounds in the humanities. That would be another interesting aspect to this study.