Religious belief divides Americans on science's benefits far more than in peer nations

The comparison that bears on American health policy is the one STAT built against other high-income nations. The 26 percent global figure is weighted "to ensure that global estimates accurately reflect the relative populations of countries in the survey" ^[11], so the largest countries count most in it. Against the high-income peers, the US religious gap on science's benefits, 24 points against 5 ^[7], is about 4.8 times the average ^[16]. Its urban-rural gap is about six times ^[17].

The change since 2018 is the more useful finding. Over seven years, agreement that science benefits most people rose 15 points among secular Americans and 13 among college graduates, the Wellcome survey found ^[15]. Religious Americans gained 4 points, from 46 to 50 percent ^[13]. Americans without four-year degrees gained 3 ^[14]. On those figures the religious gap grew by about 11 points, from roughly 13 in 2018 to 24 now ^[19]. The education gap grew by about 10 points to its current 24 ^[20].

The trailing groups moved up, only more slowly ^[13][14]. They also compare well abroad. Religious Americans are more likely to report an eagerness to be vaccinated when compared with peer countries, STAT found ^[13]. Americans without degrees are more likely than similarly educated people in peer nations to want vaccines right away ^[14]. In our view the national average hides a real distance between American audiences, but neither lagging group looks hostile by international standards. STAT wrote that the divide shows the benefits of science "are not reaching a large swath of Americans in ways they can see and feel" ^[21].

Some of the US spread may come from how Americans answer surveys, STAT reported ^[2]. Americans are "more extreme responders to public opinion surveys," said Matthew Motta, an associate professor at Boston University School of Public Health ^[3]. On vaccines, 13 percent of Americans said they would not get them at all, against 8 percent of Germans, and most Germans said they would "prefer to think about it for some time" ^[12]. A national habit of choosing the end of the scale would lift the 52 percent trust figure ^[4] and stretch the subgroup gaps at the same time. We think it explains less of the trend. A stable answering style would not produce secular Americans gaining 11 points more than religious Americans over the same seven years ^[19].

The survey measures what people say. Its vaccine item asks whether people would want a vaccine recommended by a nurse or doctor "right away", and 45 percent of Americans chose that answer against 28 percent of Germans ^[5]. The survey does not offer an explanation for why the United States outpaces its peers ^[1].