Americans report higher trust in science than people in most other countries, according to the latest Wellcome Global Monitor, which surveyed adults in 140 nations. Fifty-two percent of U.S. respondents said they have “a lot” of trust in science, compared with 26 percent worldwide. Americans also expressed greater willingness to get recommended vaccines right away, with 45 percent saying so versus 28 percent in Germany.
Yet the aggregate numbers hide deep internal divisions. STAT’s analysis of the data found a 24-percentage-point gap between religious and non-religious Americans on whether science benefits most people, compared with a five-point average gap in other high-income nations. Urban and rural Americans differ by 19 points, and only 47 percent of those without four-year degrees said science benefits most people, versus 71 percent of college graduates.
The survey suggests the widening U.S. divide is not because historically less-trusting groups are turning further away. Religious Americans and non-college graduates both became slightly more positive about science’s benefits since 2018. Instead, the gap stems from large gains among secular Americans and college graduates, whose appreciation of science jumped by 15 and 13 percentage points respectively. As public health leaders note, that still leaves many Americans feeling science does not benefit them personally, especially those in rural areas or with limited access to care.