Study: Public opinion not swayed by atheist arguments

Atheists often say science holds the truth and religion is obsolete and unnecessary. But that message isn't resonating with the average person.

A team of researchers from Houston's Rice University and West Virginia University decided to investigate whether people were more apt be influenced by the views of a high-profile scientist who identifies himself as a Christian, or by an equally high-profile scientist who is outspoken about his atheism. In the study, 15 percent of people who listened to a scientist who holds Christian views and sees science and religion as being collaborative, were persuaded to change their minds and see the relationship between science and religion in the same way. The opinions of the atheist scientist, on the other hand, had no effect whatsoever.

Although often unrecognized, science shapes much of how people view the world, the researchers wrote. Individuals and communities look to science for explanations and guidance for everything from controlling insect infestations to medical decision-making.

People hold an array of opinions about the relationship between science and religion, but in general, there are three broad viewpoints, according to the researchers. Some people see the two as being in conflict and either align themselves with religion or with science. Others see the two areas as being completely independent of one another—science explains the natural world and religion explains the spiritual world of meaning and morality. The last group believes science and religion are collaborative and together offer a deeper understanding of reality.

The researchers compared the perceptions of people who read about the views of Richard Dawkins, a well-known atheist evolutionary biologist, with those who read about the views of Francis Collins. Collins, who identifies himself as an evangelical Christian, is noted for his leadership of the Human Genome Project and is the director of the National Institutes of Health. He believes science is God’s way of allowing people to understand creation.

“I think God gave us an opportunity, through the use of science, to understand the natural world,” Collins said in an interview reported by PSB TV.

To ensure the survey respondents didn’t already have preconceived views about Dawkins or Collins, the researchers gave the survey only to people who had not previously heard of the scientist about whom they were reading.

Dawkins is very vocal about his disdain of religion, but at least in this study, his view was not persuasive for the 379 people who read about him.

“It would seem that although his work is widely consumed, his views do not actually sway people’s view of the religion and science relationship,” the researchers wrote.

The difference may be because most people expect scientists to be atheists, so when they read about such a person they are unmoved by his or her viewpoint, Elaine Howard Ecklund, lead researcher and sociology professor at Rice University, told me. The religious views of an accomplished and high-profile scientist like Collins may be more of a surprise and, thus have more of an impact on people.

Or, the difference may be because most people in America still identify themselves as religious and have a distrust of atheists. There is a “significant difference in the perceived credibility of Dawkins and Collins,” Ecklund said.