[ISTATALK-L] FW: Survey Results: American Views on Science Issues

[POLLOCK GWEN <GPOLLOCK@xxxxxxxx>]

Interesting reading and conversation topics to consider

Gwen Pollock, Science
Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street, C-215
Phone:  217/557-7323
Fax:  217/782-7937
gpollock@xxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: cs3-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:cs3-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bowler, Catherine
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 7:53 AM
To: cs3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Survey Results: American Views on Science Issues




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
<javascript:ol('http://www.aaas.org/news/press_room/election/12012004.sh
tml'
);>

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@xxxxxxx
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a=36
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.4&s
tart=20030943&len=5891&src=&type=x>     http://www.aip.org/gov
<javascript:ol('http://www.aip.org/gov');>
(301) 209-3095
##END##########

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