America's scientists are a surprisingly spiritual group, according to a survey in which almost 70 percent agreed "there are basic truths" in religion, and 68 percent classified themselves as a "spiritual person."
"Science is often perceived as incompatible with religion and spirituality, but few have asked how scientists themselves think about religion," said study director Eliane Howard Ecklund, a sociologist at Rice University in Houston. Overall, about a third said "I do not believe in God" in the analysis, which polled 1,646 scientists at 21 research universities across the nation.
The findings mirror a similar study of physicians released recently by the University of Chicago, which revealed 76 percent of the 2,000 doctors surveyed said they believed in God. Physicists and biologists were the least spiritual--41 percent in both groups said they did not believe in God.
University of Chicago researchers found that 59 percent believed in an afterlife, 90 percent attended religious services and 55 percent said their religious beliefs influenced how they practiced medicine. "We did not think physicians were nearly this religious." said study author Dr. Farr Curlin.
Source: "Scientists' Spirituality Surprises" by Jennifer Harper, The Washington Post, August 15, 2005