In Religious Understandings of Science (RUS), we explore how religious Americans think through complex scientific issues. This project involved observing religious services, as well as 319 personal interviews with religious individuals from a variety of faith traditions, including Catholics, Jews, evangelical Christians, Muslims, and mainline Protestants. To complement the depth of these personal interviews, we conducted a broad, nationally representative survey of more than 10,000 Americans. A book based on the study’s findings, Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think, was published in December 2017. RUS received generous funding from the John Templeton Foundation, Elaine Howard Ecklund PI.
Religious Understandings of Science

Elaine Howard Ecklund
Professor of Sociology, Rice University

David R. Johnson
Associate Professor of Higher Education, Georgia State University

Simranjit Khalsa
Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Memphis

Jared Peifer
Associate Professor of Management, Baruch College

Christopher P. Scheitle
Assistant Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University

Cleve V. Tinsley IV
Assistant Professor of History and Political Science, Virginia Union University
Evangelicals, Evolution, and Inerrancy: A Comparative Study of Congregational Boundary Work
Journal of Contemporary Religion


Determinants of Confidence in U.S. Institutions: Comparing Congress and Corporations
Social Science Quarterly

A Way Forward for Sociological Research on Science and Religion: A Review and a Riff
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science



Narrating and Navigating Authorities: Understandings of the Bible and Science Among Evangelical and Mainline Protestants
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion


Examining Links Between Religion, Evolution Views and Climate-Change Skepticism
Environment and Behavior

Political Conservatism, Religion and Environmental Consumption in the United States
Environmental Politics

The Influence of Science Popularizers on the Public’s View of Religion and Science: An Experimental Assessment
Public Understanding of Science

Perceptions of Science Education Among African American and White Evangelicals: A Texas Case Study
Review of Religious Research

Individual Religiosity and Orientation towards Science: Reformulating Relationships
Sociological Science

How Evangelicals from Two Churches in the American Southwest Frame Their Relationship with the Environment
Review of Religious Research




Scientists and Religious Leaders Compete for Cultural Authority of Science
Public Understanding of Science


Examining the Effects of Exposure to Religion in the Workplace on Perceptions of Religious Discrimination
Review of Religious Research


Whose Authority? Perceptions of Science Education in Black and Latino Churches
Review of Religious Research
Evangelicals Are More Skeptical of Evolution Than of Climate Change
Rice University News Release
How 'Science Popularizers' Influence Public Opinion on Religion
Rice University News Release
John Templeton Foundation
West Conshohocken, PA
Funders, Past and Current
Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think (Part 1)
Fondren Library, Rice University
Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think (Part 2)
Fondren Library, Rice University