FYI #162: Views on Science

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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Subject: FYI #162: Views on Science

FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 162: December 28, 2004

Survey Results: American Views on Science Issues

One of the speakers at this month's seminar sponsored by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science on the November
election was Kathleen Frankovic, who is the  director of surveys for
CBS News.  This unit designs and  implements surveys for CBS News
and the CBS News/New York Times polls.  Frankovic discussed
pertinent survey results as they related to several science issues.

Selections from her remarks follow.  A webcast can be viewed at:
http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/election/12012004.shtml

SCIENCE FUNDING:

"I think it's very hard for most Americans to evaluate their need
for increased spending on science because it sort of comes in the
context of many other things for which there can be increased
spending.  There will always be more support for spending on
education in general . . . when people think about their local
schools.  There will always be more support for housing.  There will
always be more support for social security, etc.  So that in that
context when it comes to dealing with the voters and the public,
it's a very hard sell."

CLONING:

"There is no survey poll question that I've seen that's been asked
in the last ten years on which you can get anything more than a
small minority saying that they are in favor of cloning.  It doesn't
matter how you ask the question, it doesn't matter how you put it,
the concept of human cloning is truly anathema to lots of
Americans.  We don't even have any recent data on it because we
haven't asked it for a while, because of the fact that it seems to
be an issue on which voters have made up their minds."

STEM CELL RESEARCH:

"On the subject of stem cell research, there is still a lot of
movement that's taking place.  Obviously the California initiative
passed, it had broad support in the state, but after all this was
California, a Democratic state, and whose Republican governor came
out in favor of the initiative.  So there was broad-based support
that crossed party lines on this.  It's not necessarily the case
that voters and the public nationally are on the same page as the
California Republican governor.  Half of the public will tell us
that they approve of using stem cell research.  Two-thirds of that
group would like to expand the number of lines.  But that's still
only half of the public.  There are huge chasms based on education
and religious intensity.  The support increases with education.
Two-thirds of college graduates, as opposed to 24% of those with
less than a high school education.  And that is also the case when
it comes to religious intensity.  Not religious identification, but
religious intensity.  Just 23% of those for whom religion is
extremely important would support use of stem cells for research, as
opposed to 74% of those whom religion is not important at all.  It
grows as one distances oneself from religion.  It is also
politicized.  Even in August, when we asked this question, no more
than just one-third of Republicans supported stem cell research,
compared to 57% of Democrats and 50% of independents."

EVOLUTION/CREATIONISM:

"We just asked this two weeks ago, on one's belief when it comes to
evolution versus creationism.  A three-part question that's been
asked off-and-on in slightly different formats by Gallup over the
last couple of decades, that asked respondents whether they believed
that man was created . . . as we sometimes put it, in a time frame
on it in the last 10,000 years, created by God in current form.
That there was a process of evolution that was guided by God, or if
there was a process of evolution for which God had nothing to do
with it.  Those are the three themes that are sort of developed by
public opinion pollsters when they ask about this.  America on this
question is fundamentally conservative.  55% say that God created
humans in their present form.  The Gallup question which adds on
within the last 10,000 years, gets a slightly lower number, but it
is very close to half.  Just under half.  This is something that
both majorities of Republicans and Democrats believe, and
independents, they believe, it too.  This is something for which
education and religion matters: 75% of weekly church-goers, versus
35% of those who never attend, say that God created man as humans as
they are now.   Education matters as well.  But, perhaps not so much
as you would think, because well over one-third of college graduates
are also strict creationists.  And even 32% who have post-graduate
training.  So this is a very intense belief among Americans."

###############
Richard M. Jones
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi () aip org    http://www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3095
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