Why such distrust in science?
Scientists supported by the EU-funded PSYDISC project carried out a study to gain a better understanding of people’s scepticism towards scientific innovations. They found that people who identify as spiritual are highly sceptical about advances in three scientific fields. Science is advancing at a rapid pace, with novel technologies having the potential to eradicate disease and bring about many other advancements in medicine and areas such as food production and climate protection. Despite the benefits of such developments, concerns about their side effects have given rise to heated debates worldwide. To discover why some people are so sceptical about certain scientific innovations, the researchers surveyed 614 people from the Netherlands about their opinions on human genome editing, nanotechnology and AI. Their findings were published in the journal ‘Science Communication’.
Not really a matter of religion or politics
The team looked beyond the influence of political and religious beliefs, also examining the role played by spirituality. Growing rapidly in western Europe, spirituality – also known as New Age or post-Christian spirituality – is a range of beliefs and practices that reflect a dismissive attitude towards religious and scientific sources of authority. People who identify as spiritual emphasise personal experience as a source of knowledge as opposed to trust in scientific methods. “As such, spirituality can be a driving force behind scepticism towards certain domains of science and technology,” reports a news item posted on the website of PSYDISC project coordinator University of Amsterdam. According to study co-author Dr Bastiaan Rutjens: “Political ideology and religiosity are usually not the primary factors contributing to scepticism about specific topics such as nanotechnology and AI.” He goes on to explain: “Other aspects of a person’s worldview and beliefs, like spirituality, moral concerns and general trust in science, play a larger role.” The study revealed clear evidence that individuals who identify as spiritual are more sceptical in the three areas investigated, namely AI, nanotechnology and human genome editing. “Generally, spiritual individuals have less trust in science,” observes Dr Rutjens. Unsurprisingly, religious people were also found to be rather sceptical about human genome editing and, to a lesser degree, about nanotechnology. People who are averse to tampering with nature also expressed scepticism about genetic manipulation. However, political ideology was shown to have no influence on people’s scepticism towards scientific advancements. A person’s religion, spirituality and the way they view nature are what appear to influence their attitude towards scientific innovations. “It is therefore important to make a distinction between religious and spiritual beliefs if we want to understand why people reject certain forms of science,” remarks Dr Rutjens. The PSYDISC (Developing and Testing the Psychological Distance to Science Model) study highlights the need for a more in-depth look at the world views that shape these attitudes, especially in western Europe, where spirituality is on the rise and religion on the decline. For more information, please see: PSYDISC project website
Keywords
PSYDISC, science, spirituality, religion, spiritual, scepticism, nanotechnology, AI, human genome editing
