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
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Determinants of Confidence in U.S. Institutions: Comparing Congress and Corporations
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Narrating and Navigating Authorities: Understandings of the Bible and Science Among Evangelical and Mainline Protestants
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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