Scientists Are Still Keeping the Faith

Published on: Apr 25, 2007

Larson, E. J. and L. Witham. 1997. “Scientists Are Still Keeping the Faith.” Nature 386: 435-436.
            In 1916, a psychologist named James Leuba found religious belief among scientists to be comparatively low. In the 1990s, Larson and Witham replicate the study to see if this has changed after 80 years. Their results, which suggest that significant numbers of scientists still hold traditional religious beliefs, appear to defy the stereotype of scientists as nonbelievers.